SANAA
Five suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed by a suspected U.S. drone strike in Yemen's southern Shabwah province on Thursday, eyewitnesses have said.
Residents of Shabwah's Nisab district said the strike had targeted militants in a car, which was entirely destroyed by the attack.
Anadolu Agency could not obtain immediate comment from Yemeni authorities on the reported drone strike.
U.S. drones frequently attack suspected Al-Qaeda sites in Yemen.
According to rights groups, 97 suspected Al-Qaeda operatives and 33 civilians were killed in a total of 35 U.S. drone attacks in 2013 alone.
The Yemeni government says Al-Qaeda remains active in several parts of the country's south, from which it stages sporadic attacks on army and police personnel.
The government has repeatedly warned that the death of civilians in U.S. drone strikes tended to sway public sentiment in favor of Al-Qaeda.
Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since pro-democracy protests forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in office.
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