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A US drone raided an al-Qaida convoy in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa on Saturday evening, killing at least seven al-Qaida militants, a security official told Xinhua. The US drone fired about three rockets on the al-Qaida convoy with three pick-up trucks on a desert road in Hareeb area in Shabwa province, leaving at least seven militants killed, the local security official said on condition of anonymity. All of the vehicles were completely destroyed following the air bombing, the official said, adding that local leading members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were believed to be among the dead. A local resident told Xinhua anonymously "just a few hours after an al-Qaida convoy passed through a mountainous area, we heard powerful explosions that rocked the ground." "The al-Qaida militants were planning to attend a meeting with their senior comrades in the area," he said. On Sunday, a U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaida leader Fahd al- Quso, who was wanted for links to the bombing of the USS Cole warship in 2000. Earlier in the day, Yemeni armed forces surrounded an al-Qaida- held town in the southern province of Abyan , preparing to launch mass attacks on its positions, a military official said. The army troops have started their offensive on Saturday evening against several sites held by the al-Qaida militants in the outskirts of Jaar, a town of Abyan , leaving at least five terrorists killed, the official said. Fighter jets of the air forces and vessels of the Yemeni navy were supporting the army forces, according to the officials. Recently, U.S. drone have carried out more strikes in Yemen , particularly in the southern regions seized by al-Qaida forces.

US drone kills 7 al-Qaida militants in southeast Yemen