"A vehicle was hit by a missile fired from an American drone. It was totally destroyed and the three people inside, Al-Qaeda militants, were killed," the source told AFP on Friday.

The attack took place near a military position in the Obeida valley, east of the city of Marib and away from residential areas, the source said.

The US military operates all unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen in support of Sanaa's campaign against Al-Qaeda and has killed dozens of militants in a sharply intensified campaign over the past year.

The attacks have triggered criticism from human rights activists who say they have claimed the lives of many innocent civilians.

The United Nations said that 16 civilians were killed and at least 10 injured when two separate wedding processions were targeted by drones in early December.

The victims had been mistakenly identified as members of Al-Qaeda, the UN quoted local security officials as saying at the time.

Following the deaths, Yemen's parliament voted for a ban on drone strikes, but analysts say lawmakers have limited powers and are unlikely to impact Washington's campaign.

Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the home base of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which the United States views as the global terror network's most dangerous franchise.

BA/BA