A drone attack in Yemen's southern Lahij province has destroyed a vehicle travelling on a mountain road and killed the two people inside it, according to local officials and residents. The local officials and residents said that the vehicle, which was travelling between Yafe and Radfan, was believed to be carrying arms and its occupants were suspected members of al-Qaeda. Saturday's drone attack was the fourth of its kind in the last three days that killed 15 people in total.
An air raid on Friday in Yemen's eastern Hadramawt province killed five suspected al-Qaeda members, while two attacks in Hadramawt and Marib provinces killed eight people on Thursday. Yemen said on Wednesday that it had foiled a plot by al-Qaeda to seize the port of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt province and a major oil and natural gas export hub. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group's local wing, has previously plotted unsuccessfully to attack international airliners and is regarded as a potential threat to Yemen's neighbour Saudi Arabia and Red Sea oil tankers.