ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- About four militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed when a U.S. drone strike hit their hideout in the central province of al-Bayda on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua.

"A number of missiles fired by an American aircraft hit an al-Qaida-held area in the central province of al-Bayda, leaving four militants killed at the scene," the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"Scores of the al-Qaida militants survived the aerial bombardment that only killed four militants and missed the others," the local security source said.

"The targeted site in a rural area was used as a training center for the terrorist group members," the source added.

In recent weeks, the newly-recruited southern troops backed by the United Arab Emirates drove scores of al-Qaida militants from several villages in the country's southeastern part.

The U.S. military has carried out several airstrikes against AQAP fighters in different provinces of the war-torn Arab country since U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group.

That included intensified overnight airstrikes and ground military raids against the al-Qaida hideouts in the mountainous areas of al-Bayda and southeastern province of Shabwa.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in southeastern provinces.

Yemen's government, allied with a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels for control of the impoverished country.

UN statistics showed that more than 8,000 people have been killed in Yemen's conflict, most of them civilians, since the Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict in 2015.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera outbreak, where about 5,000 cases are reported every day.