The men died on the outskirts of al-Wadei town in Abyan province, said residents who identified one of them as a local leader for the militant group called Ibrahim al-Adani.
There was no immediate statement from the militants or from U.S. forces who have repeatedly launched drone and air strikes on Yemen's al Qaida branch, known as Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The group has taken advantage of a more than two-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country.
US officials say they are trying to wear down the group's ability to coordinate attacks abroad.