Drone strike kills fighters in Yemen
Fourth attack of its kind in the last three days leaves two suspected al-Qaeda members dead in southern Lahij province.
A drone attack in Yemen’s southern Lahij province has destroyed a vehicle travelling on a mountain road and killed the two people inside it, according to local officials and residents.
The local officials and residents said that the vehicle, which was travelling between Yafe and Radfan, was believed to be carrying arms and its occupants were suspected members of al-Qaeda.
Saturday’s drone attack was the fourth of its kind in the last three days that killed 15 people in total.
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An air raid on Friday in Yemen’s eastern Hadramawt province killed five suspected al-Qaeda members, while two attacks in Hadramawt and Marib provinces killed eight people on Thursday.
Yemen said on Wednesday that it had foiled a plot by al-Qaeda to seize the port of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt province and a major oil and natural gas export hub.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group’s local wing, has previously plotted unsuccessfully to attack international airliners and is regarded as a potential threat to Yemen’s neighbour Saudi Arabia and Red Sea oil tankers.
The US closed has closed some two dozen embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa since August 4 after reported intelligence intercepts from al-Qaeda suggested an attack is imminent.
The US administration has said it would reopen 18 embassies and consulates except for its Yemen mission, which will remain closed.
Yemen is one of a handful of countries where Washington acknowledges using drones, but it does not publicly comment on drone attacks.