Witnesses: Drone attack kills 11 in Yemen At least 11 people, including several alleged local al-Qaida leaders, were killed in an overnight airstrike in southern Yemen, local residents said Tuesday. They said an unidentified drone attacked two vehicles east of the city of Lawdar in Abyan province in southern Yemen. Residents said no civilians were hurt in the airstrike. The United States has used drones repeatedly to attack al-Qaida militants in Yemen. Last September, a U.S. drone killed U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, described by U.S. officials as "chief of external operations" for al-Qaida in Yemen. Al-Qaida has exploited unrest and protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to strengthen its hold on remote areas in southern Yemen in recent months. An opposition-led government has been set up in Yemen after Saleh agreed in November to transfer authority to his deputy ahead of presidential elections in February. But protests have continued and activists are pressing on with demands that Saleh be tried for alleged killings of demonstrators and that the government is purged of members of his family.