Aden (Yemen), June 10 (IANS): Three members of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda branch were killed in a US drone strike in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, an official said on Wednesday.

"The US drone pounded two motorcycles with four missiles in the coastal city of Mukalla, Hadramout's provincial capital, killing three terrorists including a commander," the official told Xinhua.

The strike took place on Tuesday night in Mukalla city where the Al Qaeda has a large presence and has taken control of several key government facilities during the past few months.

An intelligence official based in Hadramout confirmed to Xinhua that "initial information indicates that a senior Al Qaeda member wanted by the Yemeni government was among the dead".

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been in the grip of one of the most active regional Al Qaeda insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an organization that emerged in January 2009, has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.