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"There were a lot of female combatants" in Sunday's battle, said Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis. "Female fighters ran to pre-established positions as though they had trained to be ready."
The US special forces mounted the raid in the Yakla region of Baida province against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington views as the global terror network's most dangerous branch.
A US service member was killed during a firefight and three others were injured in a hard landing of a V-22 Osprey military aircraft nearby, Davis said. On the AQAP side, 14 fighters, including women, were killed, according to the Pentagon. The jihadist militant group said nearly 30 people were killed, including women and children.
The Pentagon declined to say whether children were among the fatalities and stated that the death toll was still being evaluated.
The operation, which President Donald Trump said "will assist the US in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world," was the first major US military action in Yemen since he took office on January 20.
According to the Pentagon, it was aimed at gathering information, using a lightning raid by special forces to seize the maximum amount of documents, computers or other electronic devices before pulling back. The US military notably wants to be able to improve intelligence on AQAP operations after the militants redeployed to the interior of the country after being chased from the coastal areas between Mukalla in the southeast and Aden.
The raid authorized by Trump was in preparation for some time and former president Barack Obama was aware of it, the spokesman said.
"There were operational reasons to why it did not happen, say, two weeks ago," when Obama was still the commander-in-chief, Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.
| No doubt. |
Arwa Baghdadi: Saudi woman who joined al-Qaeda killed in Yemen
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Saudi woman who fled to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
last year to join al-Qaeda has been killed in a US raid, sources to Al Arabiya confirmed.
Arwa Baghdadi was killed during the US military
Baghdadi was killed a short distance away from where eight-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki was killed. Nawar was the daughter of a US-born Yemeni murderous Moslem preacher who was killed in a dronezap by the B.O. regime.
Issam Taher, Baghdadi’s father declined to comment on her death. However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
Nizar Taher, one of the brothers of Baghdadi, told Al Arabiya English he was flabbergasted by the news, saying: "I didn’t know. We didn’t hear anything. It’s sad. Despite our differences, she was so precious and she had a good heart."
Nizar stressed that he had no communication with his sister since she moved to Yemen, noting that his parents also lost contact with her due to the internet and network blackouts.
On the issue of his sister’s murderous Moslem beliefs, he asserted: "My sister was among those who were affected by the speeches calling for the toppling of the regime of infidels. She got carried away, like many others, especially after the events of September 11, 2001."
Baghdadi, 35 years old, had a bachelor’s degree in Islamic culture. Before leaving Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, Baghdadi was out on bail, awaiting trial on terrorism charges.