MARIB, YEMEN // A US drone strike killed two suspected members of Al Qaeda east of the Yemeni capital overnight, a local official said on Tuesday.

“Two members of Al Qaeda were killed when a missile from a US drone hit their vehicle” on the outskirts of the city of Marib, the official said.

Marib province has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks as forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled president press an offensive against Houthi rebels with the support of Saudi-led coalition.

Washington has waged a long-standing drone war against Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch which it regards as the extremist network’s most dangerous.

The strikes have continued alongside the Saudi-led military intervention which began in March.

Al Qaeda said in June that its leader in Yemen, Nasir Al Wuhayshi, had been killed by a US drone.

* Agence France-Presse