The strikes were the first in almost two months by pilotless aircraft against suspected Al Qaeda men in Yemen, an impoverished country of mountains and desert.
The US has escalated its use of drones against Al Qaeda in Yemen, where the group exploited mass anti-government unrest last year to seize swathes of territory in the south before being driven out by a military offensive in June.
The officials said the first drone strike hit a vehicle in a town in Al Bayda province, killing at least two suspected Al Qaeda militants. One of those killed in the attack was a Jordanian citizen, a local official and a resident said.
Family members of the other man, a Yemeni called Abdul Raouf Naseeb, confirmed he was one of those killed.
A Yemeni Al Qaeda militant of that name narrowly escaped a US drone strike in November 2002 that killed several Al Qaeda operatives including Qaed Salim Sinan al- Harithi, an alleged plotter behind the bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen in October 2000 in which 17 US sailors were killed.
In the second drone strike yesterday, at least three people riding two motorcycles and carrying pistols were killed by a missile in Hadramout province, a security official said, adding that they were suspected members of Al Qaeda.
Residents said the Hadramout attack happened on the outskirts of the coastal town of Al Sheher. The residents said a fourth person was wounded in the strike.
