Sanaa, Nov 12 (IANS): At least eight members of Yemen-based Al-Qaida affiliate AQAP were killed in a US drone strike in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa Wednesday morning, a tribal chief told Xinhua.

The attack took place early in the morning with the US unmanned aircraft firing four missiles at a vehicle in the city of Azzan in Shabwa province, a former al-Qaida bastion, the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the vehicle was completely destroyed and all the eight people on board were killed on the spot.

Yemeni media, quoting official sources, reported that some important commanders of the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were among those killed, but their identities have not been determined yet.

Drones were hovering over the area before and after the strike, creating panic among local residents.

Yemeni military officials have blamed AQAP militants for a series of assassinations and armed attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.

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