Yemeni tribesmen inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in a US drone strike in the southeastern province of Shabwa. (file photo)
The United States has carried out an assassination drone strike in southern Yemen that has killed at least four people.
On Saturday, an unmanned aerial vehicle targeted a truck in the al-Mahfad region of Abyan province.
Local officials have confirmed the death of four people but say it is not clear if they were al-Qaeda militants.
On Thursday, at least five people were killed in two drone strikes in a mountainous area near the Yemeni capital Sanaâ„¢a.
Four of the victims were killed in the first strike as they were riding a vehicle in the desert area of Oussab al-Ali, while the fifth victim was killed when a drone fired a missile that hit his house.
Washington has stepped up its assassination drone operations in Yemen over the past few years.
According to the Washington-based think tank the New America Foundation, US drone attacks in the Arab country almost tripled last year, surging from 18 to 53.
US officials claim that the attacks target militants, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned airstrikes — which have also been launched against locations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia.
The US has come under fire for increasing its drone attacks in Yemen, where the people have held many demonstrations to condemn the violation of their national sovereignty.
MRS/HGL
This article originally appeared on : Press TV