Aden: A suspected U.S. drone strike killed two men believed to be al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen late on Friday, residents and local sources said.

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The strike took place in the al Naqba area of Shabwa province where residents heard a loud explosion that they say completely destroyed a vehicle carrying armed people.

Shabwa is one of several provinces in Yemen where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is active.

Yemen-based AQAP has exploited a more than two-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi`s Saudi-backed government to enhance its influence in the impoverished country.

The United States has repeatedly attacked AQAP with aircraft and unmanned drones in what U.S. officials say is a campaign to wear down the group`s ability to coordinate attacks abroad.