Only a couple of hours after a suicide bomber suspected of being linked to al-Qaeda targeted a military outpost Tuesday afternoon in southeastern province of al-Bytha, a suspected US drone launched an airstrike targeting militants' car, killing all 4 militants in it, according to security sources.
Yemeni security source told Yemen Post that a drone hit an AQAP envoy, a bomber that left 3 soldiers from the Republican Guard troops dead and that all 4 AQAP elements were confirmed killed attacked two hours after the military post.
"Black-pitched clash ensued the bombing as al-Qaeda armed terrorists attacked the post with their light and medium weapons," said the security source, requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
A high-ranking security official confirmed that the Nasser al-Thafry, AQAP leader in AL-Byatha was found dead.
Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing has stepped up its attacks on military posts and brigades in the southern and southeastern provinces of Yemen, exploiting the unrest roiling in the country since February, 2011, when protests calling for the ouster of the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh first broke out.
Last week, fighters of Ansar al-Sharia, a group affiliated to AQAP, stormed a military brigade in the southern war-torn province of Abyan, leaving at least 200 soldiers killed, and 77 others captured. In reaction, US and Yemeni aircrafts intensified its air raids, killing 80 militants in less than 4 days.
Earlier the year, al-Qaeda leader in al-Bytha , Tariq al-Thahb, was killed by his elder brother, his successor, al-Thafri, was killed today but by army troops.