Two suspected U.S. drone strikes killed seven al Qaeda militants and eight civilians in the southern part of Yemen on Tuesday , three Yemeni security officials said . It was the latest of several U.S. strikes in Yemen , which is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , described by U.S. officials as the al Qaeda affiliate that poses the most serious threat to the United States . At least seven civilians were injured in the Tuesday strikes , the officials said . Across Yemen , at least 49 people were killed , including 31 militants , according to a security official . The dead also included eight civilians , five troops and five pro-government local resistance fighters , according to the official . The United States has increased the pace of airstrikes in Yemen in the last few years . At least 24 of 31 such strikes conducted since 2002 have happened in the last two years , according to the Long War Journal , which analyzes how the U.S. conducts its fight against terrorism . According to the security officials , one of Tuesday 's strikes targeted a militant hideout in Jaar district , a militant stronghold . Another strike targeted a home believed to be harboring militants in the same district . Three senior al Qaeda leaders were among those killed , the officials said . Jaar district residents said civilians were killed after they rushed to the site of the first strike . `` Our lives are valueless in the eyes of our government , and that is why civilians are being killed without a crime , '' resident Ali Abu Abdullah said . One of the security officials expressed regret for the civilian casualties and injuries . `` The targets of the raids were not the civilians , and we give our condolences to the families of those who lost a loved one , '' the official said . U.S. and Saudi authorities recently foiled an al Qaeda plot based in Yemen to bomb a U.S.-bound airplane . Elsewhere in Yemen , in Lowder district , at least 17 al Qaeda fighters were killed when tribesmen loyal to the government clashed with militants and took over three strategic locations in the district . Three security officers were killed in Lowder . At least 400 tribal fighters backed by hundreds of troops participated in the Lowder raids . Mohammed Aidaroos , a local leader , said the fighting erupted early Tuesday morning in Lowder , and government-supported fighters forced al Qaeda fighters to evacuate the area and leave behind huge caches of weapons . The tribal fighters took back control of Yasoof Mountain , which al Qaeda had controlled for more than a month . There was also a state of alert in the Yemeni capital . The Interior Ministry warned on Tuesday that al Qaeda is planning to conduct suicide operations in Sanaa . Tight security presence was noticeable near Western embassies and in the diplomatic zone of the capital . `` The ministry has been given intelligence information warning of a possible attack in the heart of the Yemeni capital and we are on high alert , '' one Interior Ministry official told CNN on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media . Yemeni Information Minister Ali al-Amrani told CNN he was targeted Monday when a grenade was thrown near his home in Sanaa . The grenade landed about 100 meters from his home , al-Amrani said , and he was not injured . In January , Al-Amrani escaped an assassination attempt unharmed when at least 10 shots were fired in the direction of a vehicle he was entering . Witnesses said there were at least two gunmen . Al-Amrani 's spokesman said following that attack in January that al-Amrani was being targeted in a hate campaign by pro-revolution groups .
Yemeni capital on high alert over warnings of possible attacks , an official says . Seven al Qaeda militants , eight civilians killed in Jaar district , Yemeni security officials say . Clashes between al Qaeda fighters , tribesmen reported in Lowder district . 17 al Qaeda fighters , two security officers reported killed in Lowder district .