Nine Yemeni militants believed to be al-Qaeda members were killed in an artillery attack by the Yemeni army and US drone strikes in the south of the country, local sources said on Monday. The sources said that three militants were killed when US drones fired missiles, late on Sunday, targeting weapons hideouts in Jabal Khanfar, a hill above the Abyan town of Jaar, which is controlled by al-Qaeda. Six other militants were killed when the army bombed one of their hideouts in Makhzan, south-east of Jaar, the sources added.