(Previous Incident Code: YEM194 )

A suspected US drone strike killed at least five people travelling in two or three vehicles in northern Yemen. It was not immediately clear if the dead were al Qaeda or from a militia loyal to the exiled president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The strike reportedly destroyed the convoy as it passed through an area that has become the frontline in fighting between the Houthis and anti-Houthi, Sunni militias. Tribal sources and residents said the strike targeted al Qaeda vehicles.

However militiamen from the anti-Houthi, Popular Resistance group told South American news agency EFE the drones killed 10 Popular Resistance fighters. The BBC subsequently reported 20 Popular Resistance fighters were killed by mistake.

If confirmed as a US attack, this would be the first drone strike outside Hadramout and Shabwa since the Saudi Arabian bombing campaign began in March. On February 2 US drones killed 3-6 people in al Bayda province.