Sanaa: Yemeni security officials Monday said a US drone airstrike has killed two al-Qaida militants in a southern town.
They said one was a midlevel al-Qaida Yemeni operative who escaped a US drone attack 10 years ago. The other was said to be a Jordanian.
The officials said today`s airstrike on Radda in Bayda province also critically injured three militants.
The Yemeni militant, Abdel-Raouf Naseeb, escaped death in the first recorded drone attack in Yemen, on November 3, 2002.
That strike killed Abu Ali al-Harithi, suspected of masterminding the October 2000 attack against the USS Cole warship in a Yemen port.
A member of the Naseeb family confirmed his death to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity fearing government reprisal.
The security officials also requested anonymity according to regulations.
PTI
