A drone strike in south Yemen killed at least 30 suspected Al-Qaeda militants on Sunday, the latest in an intensified aerial campaign in the impoverished country, a tribal chief said.

An earlier toll said five militants had died in the attack which also wounded many others when it targeted a gathering of militants in the town of Al-Mahfad in Abyan province.

"More than 30 members of Al-Qaeda were killed and many others wounded," said the tribal chief.