Saudis among Yemen drone attack targets

Officials say at least seven Saudi men suspected to have died in attacks after crossing border to aid al-Qaeda.

yemen
Since July 27, drone attacks in Yemen have killed 34 people suspected of being members of al-Qaeda. [AFP]

At least seven suspected Saudi Arabians were among the alleged al-Qaeda members killed in Yemen in a recent wave of US drone strikes, senior Yemeni officials have said.

Officials on Friday said intelligence suggested the foreigners had crossed the border to either ferry in money to the group or to train in al-Qaeda camps.

Since July 27, drone attacks in Yemen’s southern and central provinces have killed a total of 34 people in attacks on suspected members of the country’s al-Qaeda branch.

On Thursday alone, US drones killed 12 people in three airstrikes.

Embassy staff evacuated

The US along with Britain, also flew diplomatic staff out of Yemen’s capital of Sanaa this week over fears al-Qaeda was planning to launch attacks.

Al-Qaeda bolstered its operations in Yemen more than a decade after key Saudi operatives fled here following a major crackdown in their homeland.

The drone strikes and a US-backed offensive that began in June 2012 have driven members from territory they had seized a year earlier, during Yemen’s political turmoil amid the Arab Spring.