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US Raid Kills 7 in Yemen

US soldiers in Yemen (File Photo)
US soldiers in Yemen (File Photo)

US forces have carried out a raid on a target that Pentagon has labeled as “an Al-Qaeda compound in Yemen, killing seven militants”, the US military says.

They were killed “through a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes” in the Marib Governorate, east of Sana’a, on Tuesday morning, BBC reported. No other source has confirmed the identity of the targets.

The primary objective of the operation was “to gather intelligence”.

The military did not say whether there were any US casualties during the raid that was supported by the ousted government of Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

In a statement, the US Central Command says “the militants were members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”.

“Raids such as this provide insight into AQAP’s disposition, capabilities and intentions, which will allow us to continue to pursue, disrupt and degrade AQAP.”

The US has carried out frequent strikes in Yemen, often using unmanned drones and claiming to target Al-Qaeda’s bases.

For the past two years, the country has been embroiled in fighting between forces loyal to Hadi, who are backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Shia Houthi fighters.

The operation in the early hours of Tuesday came some four months after a botched US commando raid against the group that left more than a dozen civilians dead.

As the first military operation overseen by Donald Trump around 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed by American military personnel in the rural Yakla District of al-Bayda in the south of the country, according to medical staff in January.

 

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