Yemen drone hit kills extremists

Five suspected Al Qaeda fighters are killed in US strikes

SANAA // Two drone strikes apparently carried out by the United States killed at least five suspected Al Qaeda members in Yemen overnight, military sources said yesterday.

One strike hit a vehicle in the southern province of Shabwa, killing two suspected militants, sources said. A second hit a car in the town of Al Hami in Marib province and killed three military sources said, although local officials said four suspected Al Qaeda members were killed in that attack. Both Shabwa and Marib are largely held by forces of the Yemeni government with the backing of a Saudi-led military coalition.

Al Qaeda has exploited two years of civil war to recruit followers and cement its dominance in the central and southern part of Yemen, where the Saudi- led coalition, with logistical support from the US air force, has been fighting the Houthis to try to restore the internationally recognised government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi. The Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, in a series of military operations that began in 2014, eventually forcing Mr Hadi to flee.

Washington regards Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch as its most dangerous.

The US has targeted the Al Qaeda branch with aircraft and drones in a campaign to degrade the group’s ability to coordinate attacks abroad.

The Pentagon said on April 3 it had carried out more than 70 strikes against extremist targets in Yemen since February 28.