Drone strikes have been increasing in Yemen, prompting a rise in local al-Qaeda membership

Three people were killed in southern Yemen in a US drone strike on Saturday, the fourth such attack this week.

Yemeni security officials speaking to the press said the three killed were al-Qaeda militants, but – as The Washington Post reported earlier this week – the Yemeni government as a policy tries to conceal when US drones kill civilians, so claiming the deceased are al-Qaeda militants is merely an automated response.

Drone stikes have been increasing in Yemen, prompting anger among the local populations being subjected to the attacks and coinciding with a marked increase in the estimated al-Qaeda membership.

“Our entire village is angry at the government and the Americans,” a Yemeni villager named Mohammed told the Post. “If the Americans are responsible, I would have no choice but to sympathize with al-Qaeda because al-Qaeda is fighting America.”