The U.S. drone strike killed three suspected al-Qaida men in Yemen's central province of Marib on Saturday, Yemeni security officials said.
The strike targeted a house in Wadi Abida area in Marib province, killing three men and injuring two women, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Local residents said the victims were not from Marib, but from neighboring Saada province after sectarian conflicts erupted in Saada earlier this year.
U.S. drone strikes against al-Qaida militants have increased in Yemen since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012.
However, critics from the human rights groups said the drone strikes violate international law and cause heavy civilian casualties.
The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, is considered as major threat to the Yemeni government and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.