ADEN - Two drone strikes killed seven suspected al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen on Saturday morning, a local official said, nine days after US President Barack Obama said he would only use such strikes when a threat was "continuing and imminent".Washington views al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as the movement's most dangerous wing after it attempted to launch bomb attacks on international airliners.The official said the seven were in two cars driving in the al-Mahfad district of Abyan Governorate in southern Yemen where the Islamist militant group has a strong presence.Islamists linked to al-Qaida seized control of some towns in southern Yemen in 2011 after Arab Spring protests weakened the government in Sanaa. However, the Yemeni army and local tribal militias recaptured the towns last year with US assistance.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)