 |
| map Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com) |
US drones struck for the third time in Yemen in five days,
killing two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an attack in
eastern Yemen today.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a group of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were traveling on motorcycles in the town of Shehr in Hadramout province, according to Reuters. Two AQAP fighters are thought to have been killed; their identities were not disclosed, however.
Today's strike is the second in Shehr in five days. On Dec. 24, US drones killed five AQAP fighters as they also were traveling on motorcycles in the town. A Yemeni jihadist later identified two of the five fighters killed as Abdullah Bawazir and Nabil al Kaldi. Both men had escaped from a prison in Mukallah in Hadramout in June 2011.
Also on Dec. 24, US drones killed a Jordanian and a Yemeni AQAP fighter in a strike in Rada'a in Baydah province. The Yemeni was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli; he also escaped from a prison two years ago.
Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years.
The US has stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout this year. Prior to May, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. Since mid-May, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 41 drone strikes in Yemen this year, or 17%, have taken place in the province.
The Yemeni military claimed that Said al Shihri, AQAP's deputy emir and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a drone strike in Hadramout on Sept. 5. But al Shihri later denied the reports of his death.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a group of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were traveling on motorcycles in the town of Shehr in Hadramout province, according to Reuters. Two AQAP fighters are thought to have been killed; their identities were not disclosed, however.
Today's strike is the second in Shehr in five days. On Dec. 24, US drones killed five AQAP fighters as they also were traveling on motorcycles in the town. A Yemeni jihadist later identified two of the five fighters killed as Abdullah Bawazir and Nabil al Kaldi. Both men had escaped from a prison in Mukallah in Hadramout in June 2011.
Also on Dec. 24, US drones killed a Jordanian and a Yemeni AQAP fighter in a strike in Rada'a in Baydah province. The Yemeni was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli; he also escaped from a prison two years ago.
Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years.
The US has stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout this year. Prior to May, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. Since mid-May, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 41 drone strikes in Yemen this year, or 17%, have taken place in the province.
The Yemeni military claimed that Said al Shihri, AQAP's deputy emir and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a drone strike in Hadramout on Sept. 5. But al Shihri later denied the reports of his death.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/us_drones_kill_2_aqa.php#ixzz2GR74W1fS
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
0 comments:
Post a Comment