ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed three al-Qaida members in southeastern Yemen overnight, a military official said on Saturday.

　　The U.S. drone attack targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle carrying mid-level commanders of the al-Qaida group in Rafadh area of the southeastern Shabwa province on Friday night, the local official told Xinhua .

　　"All the al-Qaida travelers left charred inside the vehicle after the raid. They were three operatives only," the source said on condition of anonymity.

　　The slain militants' identities are still unknown, according to the official.

　　Local tribal sources living near the scene said that a car belonging to the al-Qaida was completely destroyed and left burning for several hours after the U.S. air bombing.

　　The Yemen-based affiliates of the al-Qaida and Islamic State (IS) groups and other armed groups are known to operate throughout the tribal areas of Shabwa, Abyan and al-Baydha provinces.

　　Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

　　Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which emerged in January 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, had claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.