A US assassination drone has targeted a vehicle in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, killing an unknown number of people there.
Local reports said gunmen belonging to the Ansar al-Sharia group were traveling in the car when it was targeted in the town of Mahfad.
Over the past years, the United States regularly uses unmanned aerial vehicles for attacks and spying in several Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.
The airstrikes were initiated under former US president, George W. Bush, and have been stepped up under incumbent President Barack Obama.
Washington claims the attacks target militants, but evidence on the ground shows civilians usually bear the brunt of such attacks.
The drone strikes have escalated significantly over the past year. This has resulted in a hike in anti-US sentiments in the targeted countries, with people holding numerous protests against the deadly air attacks.
The United Nations says the CIA-run drone strikes pose a growing challenge to the rule of international law.
The world body and several human rights organizations have already identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings,” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
