WASHINGTON: Seven militants were killed during an intelligence-gathering raid by US Special Forces troops against an Al Qaida compound in Yemen on Tuesday morning, US officials said.
The US Central Command said in a statement the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants were killed “through a combination of small-arms fire and precision air strikes” in the Marib governorate, with the support of the Yemeni government.
“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 statement said.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters separately that there were no known US casualties and the raid was carried out 40-45km (25-30 miles) north of another US raid that took place in late January.
One of the US officials said there were no immediate reports of civilian casualties in the raid, which was carried out by US Special Forces troops.
Yemeni security officials and tribesmen say US helicopters airlifted soldiers to the Arab country’s central Marib province where they clashed with suspected Al Qaida militants.
Tribal members say explosions were heard in Al Sirim area in Marib, followed by helicopters and gunfire. The officials say there was also bombing in nearby Bayda province.
The security officials and the tribal members spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to reporters. They also did not have any specifics on casualties.
The January operation, the first of its kind authorised by US President Donald Trump, was hailed as a success by the White House and other US officials.
However, critics questioned the value of the mission after a US Navy Seal was killed. Women and children, as well as several militants, were also killed in the raid.
The US military has carried out more than 80 strikes in Yemen against Al Qaida militants since February.
The group boasts one of the world’s most feared bomb makers, Ebrahim Hassan Al Asiri, and AQAP has been a persistent concern to the US government since a 2009 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.
The militant group has also taken advantage of a civil war pitting the Iran-aligned Al Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to try to widen its control and influence in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, one of the poorest in the Middle East.
— Reuters and AP
