Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) -- U.S. drone strikes targeted al Qaeda hideouts in southern Yemen on Wednesday , killing 27 suspected militants , local government officials said . No senior al Qaeda leaders died in the attack in the Shabwa province town of Azzan , the officials said . The strikes ' targets included a home suspected of harboring militants , three senior security officials said . The defense ministry had earlier said that 30 people died in Azzan airstrikes , but did not say whether the fatalities were caused by the drone strikes or Yemeni forces , who were also conducting airstrikes in the area . Militants headed to Azzan after they lost control of Abyan province Tuesday , sending the town 's residents fleeing over fear of more strikes . Obama ramps up covert war in Yemen . `` Azzan is where we expect the militants to seek shelter after the fall of Jaar , '' said a senior security official . `` It 's their last stronghold in Yemen . '' The officials did not want to be named because they are not authorized to talk to the news media . Al Qaeda denied in a statement posted no jihadist websites that any militants were killed and said that 10 drone strikes were conducted in Shabwa . At least 14 U.S. drone strikes were conducted over the past two days in both southern provinces , security officials said . One of the strikes targeted the convoy of Jalal Beleidi , a top commander of the Ansar al-Sharia Islamist militant group . Beleidi , who was fleeing Jaar on his way to the coastal town of Shaqra , escaped unharmed , the officials said . Yemeni forces are patrolling major towns in the province in search for militants , witnesses said . The defense ministry said the road linking Abyan to Aden reopened after militants lost control of the province . Yemen is sending hundreds of troops to Jaar to maintain control of the town , officials said . Three-hundred al Qaeda militants fled Tuesday , said Jamal al-Aqel , the governor of Abyan , who urged the government to help rebuild the province . More than 150,000 Abyan residents were displaced last year after fleeing the war . They are living in shelters in neighboring Aden and Lahj provinces . The new government plans to search for al Qaeda sleeper cells in major Yemeni cities , said Ali Saeed Obaid , a spokesman for the military committee , the country 's highest military authority . See all of our coverage of drones on CNN 's Security Clearance .
No senior al Qaeda leaders die in the attack in a southern province , officials say . Defense ministry : 30 people killed in airstrikes . Unclear whether the fatalities were caused by drone strikes or Yemeni forces .