Al-Qaeda 'commander' killed in Yemen drone-strike

Local officials said on Saturday that four members of al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch, including a local commander, had been killed in a suspected US drone strike whilst travelling in a vehicle east of the capital Sanaa.

The attack in Marib province, which is controlled by forces loyal to exiled Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, occurred late on Friday night, local officials told Reuters.

The local Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) commander killed in the attack is known locally as Abu Khaled al-Sanaani, the news agency reported.

The attack marked the second time in two days that a drone had targeted a local commander of AQAP after a drone in al-Bayda province in central Yemen killed Abdallah al-Sanaani, identified as a regional commander of the group, viewed by US officials as one of the most dangerous branches of al-Qaeda.

Several leaders of AQAP have been killed in US drone strikes in Yemen and US officials have stated that the group is one of the most dangerous security threats in the Middle East.

AQAP’s attacks mainly target the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels but last year the group also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last year.