Four Al Qaeda suspects killed in US drone attack

At least four suspected Al Qaeda militants were Monday killed in a US drone strike in Yemen, officials said.

The strike hit the suspects' car in Al-Shabwan tribal area in Marib province, killing the four men inside, Xinhua reported.

The Yemeni army, backed by the US military support, has waged a wide-scale assault on Al Qaeda strongholds since last week in the country's southern territories, killing scores of militants.

The Yemeni defence ministry announced Thursday that the army has dislodged militants from their last bastion in the southeastern province of Shabwa after two weeks of fighting.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has vowed to hit back in main cities including the capital.

The AQAP, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered a major threat to the Yemeni government and to neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.