A US drone strike killed three suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen's northeastern province of al-Jawf on Wednesday, Yemeni officials said.

"The drone strike targeted a vehicle carrying three militants in Om Shukah area in al-Jawf near the border of Saudi Arabia," the official said.

This is the fifth such drone strike this month.

On Monday another drone strike killed two suspected local al- Qaida leaders in Yemen's central province of Marib. Last week, three separated drone strikes in al-Jawf, Marib and Shabwa killed at least six militants.

The United States has escalated its drone strikes at suspected al-Qaida targets in Yemen since February last year, when President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office after a UN-backed deal removed former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.

Earlier this month, the White House pledged to continue to support the anti-terrorism efforts of Hadi's government that aims to uproot the Al-Qaeda group in Yemen.

But critics said the drone strikes often violate international law and cause heavy civilian casualties.

In December last year, a US drone strike mistakenly hit a wedding party in Yemen's southeastern province of al-Bayda, killing 11 Yemeni civilians and wounding another 21.