"We did have one additional strike last night in Yemen. We have now had more than 40 strikes in Yemen over the past five nights," Davis told reporters. "That [strike] was against seven AQAP fighters."
In January, the United States conducted a raid in Yemen, which helped acquire important intelligence, according to the Defense Department. It also resulted in death of 14 terrorists and a US Navy SEAL.
The Yemeni government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi is locked in military conflict with Shia Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A US counterterrorism strike in Yemen on March 2 killed a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yasir al-Silmi, US Department of Defense spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis said in a briefing on Monday.
"We can confirm the death of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yasir al-Silmi," Davis told reporters. "Al-Silmi was incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to 2009."
