Suspected US drone strike kills 6 al-Qaida fighters in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni tribal leaders say a suspected U.S. drone strike killed six alleged al-Qaida militants in the country’s southwest.

The tribal leaders say an unmanned aircraft targeted an al-Qaida hideout in al-Qrishia district in Bayda province on Sunday, killing two commanders and four other militants.

The tribal leaders spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni group is known, has long been considered the network’s most dangerous branch and has attempted to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland.

Yemen was plunged into civil war more than three years ago. Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has been battling Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis.

Al-Qaida and an Islamic State affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence in Yemen.