"The U.S. unmanned aircraft targeted a group of suspected al- Qaida members onboard a four-wheel vehicle on a remote road between the villages of Khabra and Manasih, killing three of them and injuring the other one," the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.
"The dead included Saleh al-Ameri who is believed to be a local leader of the terrorist group in the area," the official said.
Al-Bayda province, about 267 km southeast of the capital Sanaa, was the scene of deadly battles between the army and al-Qaida militants earlier last year.
The fresh airstrike was the fourth of its kind in less than a week against suspected members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, according to Yemeni security officials.
The previous three air raids targeted the militants in Shaher town of the southeastern province of Hadramout, leaving at least seven al-Qaida suspects dead and injuring several others.
The escalation in airstrikes came simultaneously with a newly released video tape earlier this week by al-Qaida militants, in which the terrorist group incited for more attacks against U.S. missions in Yemen.
"We, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in order to inspire for jihad and to encourage our Muslim Ummah, announce a reward of 3,000 grams of gold to whoever kills the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa," the militants said in the video message, which was posted on Jihadi websites last Sunday.
"And 5 million Yemeni Riyals to whoever kills any American soldier in Yemen," they said in the 43-minute video tape which was obtained by Xinhua.
The militants also carried out a series of deadly attacks and assassinations against Yemeni security and intelligence personnel in several provinces, including the capital Sanaa.
The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with Sanaa government since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed the militants to capture several cities in Yemen's south.
from XINHUA
2012-12-30 02:29:22
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