Drone Strikes Kill 10 Qaida Suspects in Yemen

Two missile strikes by unmanned American drones in southeastern Yemen have killed 10 suspected members of Al-Qaida, including three local chiefs, an official said Saturday.

The raids targeted a vehicle and a container loaded with weapons late Friday at the port of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, the local official said.

The strikes destroyed the arms container, he added.

The deaths bring to 23 the number of suspected Al-Qaida militants killed by similar strikes in Yemen in less than three weeks, and follows the death of the second-in-command of Al-Qaida's global network.

The group confirmed on June 16 the killing of Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who headed Al-Qaida's Yemen branch, by U.S. drone strike.

Washington regards that branch, known as Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as its most dangerous and has kept up a drone war despite the pullout of US troops from Yemen in March as the country's war worsened.

The U.S. still has drones and other aircraft at bases in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti.

AQAP was behind several plots against Western targets and claimed the January massacre at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.