Tribal Source: Drone Strike Kills 4 'Qaida Members' in Yemen

A U.S. drone strike in northeast Yemen has killed four suspected al-Qaida members, a tribal source said on Tuesday.

Two missiles struck two vehicles late Monday in the Wadi Abida area, east of Sanaa, killing the occupants "who were all al-Qaida members," the source said.

Obad Mubarak al-Shabwani and Jaafar al-Shabwani, "both local chiefs of al-Qaida," were among the passengers, he said.

The United States military operates all drones flying over Yemen in support of Sanaa's campaign against al-Qaida and has killed dozens of militants in a sharply intensified campaign in the past year.

Drone strikes have triggered criticism from rights activists, who say they have claimed the lives of many innocent civilians.

The United Nations said 16 civilians were killed and at least 10 wounded when two separate wedding processions were targeted by drones in early December.

The victims had been mistakenly identified as members of al-Qaida, the U.N. quoted local security officials as saying at the time.

Following the deaths, Yemen's parliament voted for a ban on drone strikes, but analysts say lawmakers have limited powers and are unlikely to have an impact on Washington's campaign.

Washington says that drones are an essential part of its "war on terror".

Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the home base of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington views as the jihadist network's most dangerous franchise.