With AQAP on the run in south-eastern Yemen, it seems its leaders are easier to track too - and that's resulting in a notable up-tick of US UCAV strikes.

This one should've scored 'big points': U.S. drone strike kills local Qaeda leader in South Yemen
A suspected U.S. drone strike killed a local leader in Al Qaeda and five of his aides in southern Yemen on Tuesday, residents said, as Yemeni and Emirati troops pressed their offensive against the militant group.

Abu Sameh al-Zinjibari and other men died when a missile struck their moving car in Amoudiya, a village near the Qaeda-controlled towns of Jaar and Zinjibar.
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That said: Zinjibar is not 'AQAP-controlled' since at least two days.