Drone kills 7 Qaeda suspects in Yemen
A drone strike has killed seven suspected members of Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen, a security official said on Sunday.
The United States is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen.
The official said an overnight drone attack, “likely American”, targeted three vehicles on the road from the southern province of Shabwa to the central province of Bayda, killing the seven suspected jihadists.
In the southern province of Lahj, a suspected local leader of Al-Qaeda and a policeman were killed in a shootout as security forces raided the alleged jihadist’s home to arrest him, a security official said.
Another suspected jihadist was also arrested in the raid in the Al-Wahat area, Lahj security director Saleh Said said in a statement.
Washington considers the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the radical group’s most dangerous branch.
A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
AQAP has flourished in the chaos of the country’s civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against the Huthi rebels.
More than 8,700 people have been killed in the conflict since a Saudi-led military coalition intervened on the government’s side in March 2015.
Al-Qaeda’s jihadist rivals, the Islamic State group, have also carried out several deadly attacks in the country.
Last month, the United States said it had killed dozens of IS fighters at training camps in Bayda.
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