The United States, which rarely acknowledges its years-long unmanned drone campaign in Yemen, is thought to have carried out dozens of strikes against AQAP members.

A possible US drone strike killed seven suspected al-Qaeda operatives in central Yemen, a security official said.

The official said a missile fired by what was “probably an American drone” hit an apartment building in the al-Wadi area of Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, killing seven people late Sunday.

The United States, which rarely acknowledges its years-long unmanned drone campaign in Yemen, is thought to have carried out dozens of strikes against what it says are al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members.

AQAP and ISIS have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Iran-backed rebels to expand their presence in the Arabian Peninsula country.

The US has vowed to continue its campaign against AQAP, which it considers to be the al-Qaeda network’s deadliest franchise.

A Saudi-led Arab military coalition that backs the Yemeni government has also turned its sights on AQAP, targeting it with air strikes.

The coalition is supporting pro-government forces which launched an offensive this year to retake several towns from AQAP.

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