A US drone strike bombed al-Qaida operatives in Southern Yemen, and killed at least four terrorists, a government official told Xinhua.

"The US strike pounded a vehicle with three missiles in a mountainous area in Shabwa province, killing about four members of the al-Qaida terrorist group," the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

A local tribal chief near the scene confirmed to Xinhua in a phone call saying that "the US drone floated over the area and then fired rockets on a car ."

"All the killed were tribal fighters who recently joined the al-Qaida group attempt to take revenge for their relates killed by previous US air strikes," the tribal source said.

The al-Qaida group has started to recruit new fighters in south amid the nation's worsening security situation and political uncertainty, according to local Yemeni officials.

US President Barack Obama announced last week that Washington had not suspended its counterterrorism operations against the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen following the Shiite Houthi group's takeover of capital Sanaa.

AQAP, which emerged in January, 2009 and also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered one of the greatest threats to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.