SANAA

The Al-Qaeda group on Thursday confirmed the death of a senior group leader in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen's southern Shabwah province.

The group said on Twitter that Hareth al-Nazari, a Yemeni national, along with three other group members, had been killed earlier this week when a drone targeted their vehicle.

Al-Nazari had recently appeared in several video messages released by the group, including footage in which Al-Qaeda had claimed responsibility for an attack last month on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which at least 12 people were killed.

U.S. drones frequently target suspected Al-Qaeda sites in Yemen.

According to rights groups, dozens of suspected Al-Qaeda operatives – along with a number of civilians – have been killed by U.S. drone strikes in recent weeks.

According to the government, Al-Qaeda remains active in several parts of the country's south, from which it stages sporadic attacks on army and police personnel.

Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since pro-democracy protests forced autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in power.