Aden, Yemen (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Two members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot were killed Tuesday in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen`s southeastern province of Shabwa, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua.

The U.S. air raid pounded two vehicles belonging to al-Qaida in a desert area in Shabwa province, killing at least two insurgents at the scene, the local security official said anonymously.

The al-Qaida network has yet to comment on the strike.

Meanwhile, a military official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that warplanes of the Yemeni air forces bombed several squads of the al-Qaida militants in neighboring southern province of Abyan.

However, he did not give further details about casualties amongst the militants.

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with the Yemeni government since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to capture several cities in the south.

The al-Qaida militants were either captured or hunted by the security authorities after a U.S.-backed offensive in the southern Abyan province three months ago, routing the militants out of their strongholds that they had controlled for nearly a year.

Combating al-Qaida network in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting Hadi, who has promised to reform the army, restore security and uproot the resurgent branch of al-Qaida, locally known as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law). (C003)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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