The Pentagon has conducted its first military operation in Yemen since a botched raid in January.
Photo: AP
The US Armed Forces have performed a new military operation in Yemen, which became the first one since their botched raid, conducted in January.
According to spokesman for the Pentagon, Captain Jeff Davis, over 20 airstrikes were carried out by manned and unmanned aircraft of the US Forces on positions of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization in the Yemeni provinces of al-Bayda, Abyan and Shabwah early on Thursday.
“The strikes will degrade the AQAP’s ability to coordinate external terror attacks and limit their ability to use territory seized from the legitimate government of Yemen as a safe space for terror plotting,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
Though, US military did not disclose the number of casualties, local officials claim that at least nine al-Qaeda militants were killed in the recent attacks.
As Davis noted, the operation was coordinated with resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
As the Reuters news agency reported, citing unnamed witnesses, a flurry of fresh airstrikes was carried out by military helicopters and drones in Shabwah province on Friday. The airstrikes allegedly targeted a residence of al-Qaeda leader Sa’ad Atef and positions of common terrorists in the area.
Reportedly, an unidentified aircraft, believed to belong US military, also transported troops to the al-Saeed area of the southern province. The deployed soldiers were conducting an operation against al-Qaeda terrorists on the ground during about half an hour.
The military operation became the first one after the botched raid of the US Forces in al-Bayda, conducted on January 29, when at least 25 civilians, including women and children, as well as one US serviceman, were killed.
Meanwhile, the first battalion of militants, trained by the UAE, is now ready to join other Saudi-backed mercenaries, fighting against the Houthi-Saleh alliance in Yemen. The official Emirates news agency published a video, showing a ceremony of the termination of the pro-Saudi militants’ training process in the Yemeni port city of Aden.
Is USA looking for hospitals to bomb ? Of course, by accident.
In Yemen the Saudis take care of these targets. Along with the schools and funeral homes. The Houthis have no problem finding recruits.
I heard this was another botched raid by the U.S., so CENTCOM went berserk and started blowing the hell out of anything and everybody in sight either to pull the SEALs out or to ‘punish’ the locals for screwing up their raid. The U.S. will come up with some weak excuse/lie in a few days in an attempt to to explain (spin) things. Do they honestly think anyone believes them anymore?
“These elite security forces received professional training at the hands of Sudanese and Yemeni military experts…”
WTF is a Sudanese or Yemeni military expert? They’re routinely getting their asses kicked by the Houthis – that’s the only ‘expertise’ they seem to have. They should have hired someone else to train the new cannon fodder.
And I almost feel sorry for this new batch of Houthi targets. Nobody defeats the flip-flop army – various powers have been trying to for the last six hundred years. On a side note, I’m almost starting to hate the UAE as much as I hate the Saudis. I hope the Houthis pay them a visit and ‘take care of business’ in Doha.
Sudanese or Yemeni “military experts” = the blind leading the blind :D N Yemen did lose their Mocha port, this is a problem. I assume that food can still get through (not a total naval blockade). But ships are checked for weapons, no Scuds buried underneath the wheat!