US sends troops to Yemen, steps up anti-Qaeda strikes
The Pentagon previously had more than 100 special operations forces advising the army in Yemen, but pulled them out early last year
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon acknowledged for the first time it has deployed US troops to Yemen since the country’s collapse last year to bolster government and Arab coalition forces battling Al Qaeda.
Spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said on Friday the US military has also stepped up air strikes against fighters with Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
A “very small number” of American military personnel has been working from a “fixed location” with Yemeni and Arab coalition forces — especially the Emiratis — in recent weeks around Mukalla, a port city seized by AQAP a year ago, Davis said.
“This is of great interest to us. It does not serve our interests to have a terrorist organisation in charge of a port city, and so we are assisting in that,” the spokesman added.
He said the troops were helping the Emiratis with “intelligence support,” but declined to say if they are special operations forces.
AQAP fighters have now fled Mukalla and other coastal areas, due to the government offensive.
While the number of US personnel on the ground is limited, the United States is also offering an array of assistance to partners in Yemen, including air-toair refuelling capabilities, surveillance, planning, maritime security and medical help.
The Pentagon previously had more than 100 special operations forces advising the army in Yemen, but pulled them out early last year as the country collapsed.
The US Navy also has several ships nearby, including an amphibious assault ship called the USS Boxer and two destroyers.
The Houthis denounced the return of the US military “with their weapons in southern Yemen and Al Anad airbase,” the largest in the country.
American personnel had been deployed at the base gathering intelligence for drone strikes on Al Qaeda until they pulled out in March last year, shortly before the Houthis overran the area.
A Yemeni army colonel was gunned down in Aden on Saturday in the latest in a spate of assassinations of senior officers that underlines the persistent insecurity in the city. A gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle killed Colonel Badr al Yafei in the city’s Khormaksar district, which houses diplomatic missions and the airport, a security official said.