(LWJ) — The US killed several members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during airstrikes in an area of southern Yemen, according to reports from the region.

Four AQAP fighters were killed yesterday by an airstrike in a mountain pass in the southern province of Abyan, according to Aden Online. Witnesses claimed the strike was carried out by “American military air craft.”

Fahd al Quso, a top operational commander of AQAP who has been indicted for his role in the suicide attack on the USS Cole in December 2000 and was officially added to the list of designated terrorists in December 2010, is rumored to have been the target of the strike. He has not been reported as killed or wounded. In the past, Quso was reported killed while in Pakistan, but in December 2010 he granted a media interview and mocked the reports.

In a second strike yesterday, which is also thought to have been carried out by US aircraft, seven AQAP fighters were killed in the southern port city of Shaqra, which is currently under the control of the terrorist group.