A local senior security official confirmed Saturday that the most-wanted Yemeni al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki escaped the U.S.-led air strike on Thursday in Yemen's southeast province of Shabwa.

The official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the U.S. unmanned drone targeted al-Awlaki's convey, but failed to strike the car which al-Awlaki was in, leaving two mid-level al-Qaida leaders killed.

On Thursday, the country's Defense Ministry said that Yemeni security forces conducted an operation that killed two leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Shabwa.

The ministry identified the pair as "Mosaaid Mubarak al-Jard and his brother Abdullah".

Shabwa is the ancestral homeland of al-Awlaki who was put on the U.S. "capture or kill" list last year for alleged accusations of linking to a botched attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound plane in December 2009, for which al-Qaida in Yemen later claimed responsibility.

Besides the problems of resurgent AQAP in the south and east of the country, Yemen's security and stability have also been undermined by the anti-government protests since mid February which demand an immediate end to the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.