Two suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed and two others wounded in the U.S. drone attack in Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramout on Wednesday.

Two suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed and two others wounded in the U.S. drone attack in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Wednesday, a government official told Xinhua news agency.

The U.S. drone fired two missiles, which struck a small vehicle in the outskirts al-Qatan region in Hadramout province, killing at least two al-Qaeda members and wounding two others, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

A local resident told Xinhua that "this afternoon, we heard a powerful explosion and saw a drone disappearing far into the sky, a small car was burned and at least two people were killed at the scene."

Washington has escalated its drone strikes on the al-Qaeda network in Yemen since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012 after a UN-backed power transfer deal removed former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.

The Yemen-based al-Qaeda offshoot frequently attack state institutions, the military and foreign missions in the country.

On Dec. 5, 12 al-Qaeda militants attacked the Yemeni defense ministry, killing 56 people and injuring more than 200.