SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni officials say a U.S. warplane has attacked a police station overrun by Islamic militants in southern Yemen, killing three of the fighters.
Police official Abdullah al-Gadani says the strike hit the town of Wudiya before dawn on Thursday.
Islamist groups have taken advantage of Yemen's security breakdown during five months of popular protests calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster. Militants, including some with links to al-Qaida, have overrun towns in weekly governed provinces.
The United States gives Yemen military aid in exchange for its cooperation in fighting the al-Qaida branch there.
Yemeni security officials say an American plane carried out Thursday's strike because Yemeni planes don't have such capabilities. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.