Qaida Executes 4 'Spy' Trackers for Yemen Drone Hits

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula announced Sunday it has executed four people accused of placing tracking devices on vehicles to help U.S. drones target jihadists.

In a video posted online by AQAP, four suspects described as "spies" say they placed tracking devices on the vehicles of jihadists killed in drone attacks two years ago in the southern Shabwa province.

An AQAP security official named Abu Islam al-Muhajer said in the video that U.S. and Yemeni authorities were behind the drone attacks.

The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but U.S. officials rarely acknowledge the covert operations.

The drone program has been defended by both the White House and Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, in the face of protests by human rights groups over civilian casualties. 

The raids target fighters from AQAP, which has been linked to scores of botched or thwarted terror attacks on the U.S. homeland.

Around 60 suspected jihadists were killed in a wave of drone attacks in mid-April that struck AQAP training camps and bases in Yemen.