Drone strike kills seven suspected al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen

Seven suspected al-Qaeda fighters were killed on Friday when a drone targeted their car in the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa, a security official said. 

The car was hit as it drove along a side road in Shabwa's Bihan district, the official, from forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government, told AFP. 

The US military is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen.

The security official said the militants were members of al-Qaeda, and said the aircraft that carried out the strike was American. 

The United States considers the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the radical group's most dangerous branch.

A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.

AQAP has flourished in the chaos of the country's civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Houthi rebels, and operates in several provinces in south and eastern Yemen, including in Abyan, Shabwa and Bayda.