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Nine Qaida Militants Killed in Yemen Drone Strike
[AnNahar] Drone strikes killed nine suspected al-Qaeda gunnies Saturday in southeast Yemen, where the U.S. military launched a failed operation last month to rescue an American hostage, security and tribal sources said."Several drone strikes have targeted al-Qaeda positions in Nusab (in Shabwa province), killing nine members of the network," a security source told AFP. A tribal leader said soldiers of an unknown nationality were seen parachuting into the area and festivities ensued, suggesting it could be a new operation to try to free the U.S. hostage. It was not immediately possible to verify that information. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... (AQAP) on Thursday threatened the imminent execution of U.S. journalist Luke Somers who was kidnapped more than a year ago in Sanaa. The United States has said that American and Yemeni forces recently tried unsuccessfully to rescue Somers. According to Yemen's defense ministry, al-Qaeda moved hostages, including the U.S. journalist, a Briton and a South African, days before last month's U.S.-Yemeni raid in southeastern Hadramawt province. Yemen is a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, allowing Washington to conduct a longstanding drone war against the group on its territory. AQAP is considered by Washington as the most dangerous affiliate of al-Qaeda. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-12-07 |
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