Up to five suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been killed in a US drone strike in southern Yemen.

Up to five suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been killed in a US drone strike in southern Yemen, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Yemeni security official.

The air raid targeted a convoy of two pick-up trucks in Lahj province.

"Two air strikes were launched by a US aircraft and completely destroyed two cars carrying suspected Al-Qaeda members in the valley of Bana in Lahj's suburbs, and killed five.

Some of the dead were believed to be foreign nationals," said the source.

It comes after the recent temporary closure of US embassies and consulates across the Middle East amid a heightened terror alert in the region.

Some 34 suspected militants have been killed by US drone strikes in less than two weeks across Yemen, where US and the government forces are fighting Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).