US says attacks on two ISIL camps in Yemen killed dozens

The US military said it killed dozens of ISIL fighters at the group’s training camps in central Yemen, in the first such strikes in the country’s conflict.

Witnesses said villagers were prevented by tribal leaders from approaching the area and retrieving the dead and wounded for fear of more attacks.

Locals said the camps, both in Bayda province, were named after prominent ISIL figures – Yemen chief Abu Bilal Al Harbi and former global spokesman Abu Mohamed Al Adnani, killed last summer in a US air strike.

This is the first time allies of Yemen’s internationally recognised government have announced raids against ISIL positions.

US central command, which oversees US forces in the region, released a statement on Monday: “US forces killed dozens of ISIL members in a strike on two ISIL training camps … in Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen, disrupting the organisation’s attempts to train new fighters.”

ISIL and its jihadist rival Al Qaeda have taken advantage of a conflict between the government and Shiite Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sanaa, to bolster their presence across much of the south.

The US is the only force known to operate armed drones over Yemen, but previous known strikes have exclusively targeted Al Qaeda.

ISIL, however, has risen to prominence in the civil war, targeting army recruits of the government and Shiites, whom it considers heretics.

It entered the war in March 2015 with a series of attacks on Shiite mosques in the capital, killing more than 140 people.

The group’s last major attack was a suicide bombing in the government stronghold of Aden last December, which killed 48 soldiers.

Al Qaeda has distanced itself from ISIL attacks, claiming that it seeks to avoid “the shedding of any Muslim blood” while focusing on fighting the “Americans and their allies”.

The Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains, has turned its fire on Sunni jihadists and backed forces loyal to president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The Yemen war has killed 8,673 people and wounded 58,636 – among them many civilians, according to the UN.