Reports coming form Yemen indicate that not only drones but fighter jets were used in what looks like a major operation.It is very important for the Americans that these militants are restricted in the south of the country.
Earlier Wednesday, Admiral Michael Mullen, the top US uniformed commander, said the conflict in the Arabian Peninsula country was making the Al-Qaeda terror network more "dangerous."
Al-Qaeda in Yemen "has grown into a very virulent deadly federated point in the Al-Qaeda organisation," the head of the US joint chiefs of staff said in Cairo."It is incredibly dangerous and made more dangerous in the ongoing chaos."
The most recent attack was on Friday when US Air-jets killed alleged Al-Qaeda member Ali Al-Harithi and others while also claiming the lives of four civilians. Although the strike was a US lead attack there had been ongoing clashes on the ground between the state security and Islamists in Zunjubar the capital of Abyan. According to locals the clashes have made regular life impossible in the town and forced many to hide. A few weeks ago a similar US lead attack was launched attempting to kill AQAP leader Anwar Al-Awlaqi who is said to be hiding in Shabwa governorate neighboring Abyan but has failed.
Before this American attacked on the 6th of May with drone aircraft a car carrying a group of suspected militants, including an American citizen, who were believed to have Qaeda ties. The attack was part of a clandestine Pentagon program to hunt members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group believed responsible for a number of failed attempts to strike the United States, including the thwarted plot to blow up a trans-Atlantic jet on Dec. 25, 2009, as it was preparing to land in Detroit. Some intelligence sources tell us that these attacks was meant to liquidate Anwar al-Awlaki.
Although Al-Awlaqi is not one of the top Al-Qaeda leader yet he has been made a target due to his success in recruiting English speaking Yemeni nationals for suicide missions and due to his very popular radio and internet broadcasts. Which are even popular in Muslims of Europe as well as the world. It is to be noted that this man is an American citizen yet US government has decided to kill him.
Intelligence sources further say that American troops present in Yemen are commandos from Special Operation Group and they have been given the lead role in these operations. Troops are not only helped by electronic intelligence, they are guided by CIA operatives present in the country. For the past few years even the US navy has attacked targets inside Yemen using cruise missiles or marine jets flying from their aircraft carrier.
On Tuesday the Yemeni defense ministry announced that 30 members of Al-Qaeda have been killed through military raids.Ironically it was the same defense ministry that allowed the Islamists to have a strong foot hold in the area especially when it recalled its men leaving the town security free and vulnerable to armed groups.
Saleh, who has ruled the country for 33 years, has been a key US ally on the "war on terror.". These fresh attacks come after one year. The May 5th strike was the first known attack in the country by the American military for nearly a year. Last May, American missiles mistakenly killed a provincial government leader, and the Pentagon strikes were put on hold.
According to the newspaper, Saleh had authorized American missions in Yemen in 2009, but has said publicly that all military operations were conducted by Yemeni troops.
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