U.S. steps up strikes on al-Qaida in Yemen, citing threat to West

WASHINGTON — The United States has stepped up its campaign against al-Qaida targets in Yemen, launching more than 30 airstrikes in the past two days, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.

More than 20 airstrikes were conducted Thursday morning, targeting al-Qaida militants, equipment and infrastructure in Bayda, Shabwa and Abyan provinces. Those attacks were followed by at least 10 more overnight Friday against the extremist group, which is known as al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Pentagon denied reports that U.S. forces had been involved in raids or firefights on the ground.

“I know there have been reports of firefights, raids … There have not been any that U.S. forces have been involved in, not since the one you know about,” Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, referring to the Jan. 29 commando raid in which a U.S. Navy SEAL and as many as 30 civilians were killed.

The strikes against al-Qaida are part of a plan developed at the end of President Barack Obama’s administration and were not based on information collected during the Jan. 29 raid, Davis said. The Pentagon did not rule out further airstrikes.

“I don’t want to telegraph future operations but this is part of a plan to go after this very real threat and ensure they are defeated,” Davis said.

A U.S. defense intelligence official, who spoke at a briefing on the condition of anonymity, estimated that the number of al-Qaida fighters in Yemen is somewhere in the low thousands. Most of them are Yemeni, allowing them to blend in with the population, he said.

“We strongly believe AQAP remains intent on attacking the West and specifically the United States,” the official said.

The Jan. 29 raid yielded information that is “potentially actionable,” including “an awful lot of telephone numbers” that will help the military understand the terrorist network in the region, the official said.

The White House has insisted that the commando raid was a success, despite the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens and the 30 civilians, and the loss of a $70 million aircraft. In his first address to Congress, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the raid had resulted in “large amounts of vital intelligence.” It was the first counterterrorism operation he had authorized.

Trump has granted U.S. commanders, through Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the temporary authority to order military strikes without going to the White House for approval.