ADEN: A drone strike early Saturday killed seven suspected Al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen, a security official said.

The US military is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen.

The official said the strike happened after midnight and targeted a car in Shabwa province.

"All seven passengers, who were Al-Qaeda members, were killed," said the security source.

The United States considers the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the radical group's most dangerous branch.

A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.

AQAP has flourished in the chaos of the country´s civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Houthi rebels.