WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States has eliminated 10 al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen, a US Defense Department spokesman announced.
"We have conducted four counterterrorism strikes against AQAP since 23 April, killing 10 Al-Qaeda operatives and injuring another," US Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said as quoted by The Guardian on Friday.
The US Department of Defense has recently deployed a small number of servicemen to Yemen to provide intelligence support in the fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force, supported by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
AQAP militants have taken advantage of the internal conflict, taking control of Mukalla in April 2015.
According to the Pentagon, the United States has conducted several airstrikes on AQAP targets in Yemen in the past weeks. A coalition of mostly Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions at President Hadi's request since March 2015.
