Missiles from a U.S. drone killed five al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Thursday, a military source told Xinhua.

About two missiles slammed into an al-Qaida-held site in the Qatan valley in Hadramout, leaving at least five terrorists killed and three others injured, the local source said on condition of anonymity.

A local government official told Xinhua anonymously that the target was used for training terrorists. Intelligence sources confirmed the raid and said there was no immediate confirmation of any high-value target. The attack came ahead of scheduled talks between Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday.

On Tuesday, a U.S. drone strike targeted a car in the southeastern province of Shabwa, killing three al-Qaida members.

The U.S. government stepped up drone strikes in Yemen since Hadi took office last February, after a year-long unrest weakened the control of the central government and allowed the militants to take over swaths of territory in the south.

The Yemeni government managed to recapture several southern cities in May, 2012.

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