Air strikes have killed 24 al Qaeda suspects in their strongholds in the country’s south and east, the defence ministry and a tribal chief said on Sunday. A Yemeni air raid late on Saturday killed “16 terrorists belonging to al Qaeda network in Kud near Zinjibar,” the extremists’ stronghold in the south, the defence ministry news website 26sep.net reported. Meanwhile, a tribal chief told AFP a US drone killed eight al Qaeda suspects when it fired a missile at their vehicle in the eastern province of Shabwa on Saturday, a tribal chief told AFP. “Al Qaeda militants were aboard a vehicle on their way from Shabwa to (nearby) Marib province when a US drone fired a missile at their vehicle, killing them all,” the source said. He said the suspected militants, killed late on Saturday, were five Yemenis and three Arab foreigners. “US spy planes were also flying over several areas in Shabwa, especially those which are Al Qaeda strongholds — Rawdah, Huta, and Azzan,” said the source.