A pair of drone strikes have killed nine suspected al Qaeda militants in central Yemen, according to Yemeni media and defense ministry reports. A third attack missed its intended target.
Five of the militants were killed in a strike carried out late Saturday, the independent Yemeni website Mareb Press reported. The other four, two believed to be Saudis, were killed in a subsequent strike in the same area, according to the report.
A raid earlier in the evening targeted a vehicle transporting four people, but the rocket missed, allowing the passengers time to flee, a witness told the AFP news agency.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry reported in an SMS that a number of militants were killed in two air strikes but gave no further details.
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has said that he personally approves every attack. Hadi did not comment on the most recent strikes.
mkg/dr (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
