Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

AP/Press Association Images

43 dead in two days of drone attacks in Yemen

Officials have confirmed that at least three civilians have been killed in the strikes.

A DRONE STRIKE in south Yemen killed at least 30 suspected Al-Qaeda militants today, the latest in an intensified aerial campaign in the impoverished country, a tribal chief said.

An earlier toll said five militants had died in the attack which also wounded many others when it targeted a gathering of militants in the town of Al-Mahfad in Abyan province.

“More than 30 members of Al-Qaeda were killed and many others wounded,” said the tribal chief.

The unmanned plane targeted a gathering of militants in the town of Al-Mahfad, in Abyan province, where Al-Qaeda remains active despite being driven out from main cities in a 2012 army offensive, the source said.

A statement on the 26sep.net defence ministry website said the attack on Al-Qaeda “training camps” killed “several” militants of various nationalities.

The United States is the only country that operates drones in Yemen, but officials rarely discuss the covert programme.

The strike comes a day after a similar attack in the central province of Baida killed 10 Al-Qaeda suspects and three civilians, according to a newly revised official toll.

An earlier toll of Saturday’s strike had put the number of militants killed at 15.

Mideast Yemen A Yemeni activist paints a mural on a wall calling for an end to child soldiers. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The drone programme has come under criticism from human rights activists concerned over civilian casualties.

The United States has defended the drone campaign, which allows it to target Al-Qaeda without the use of ground forces in lawless areas where authorities cannot or will not act against the group.

Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the home base of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, which has been linked to a number of failed attacks on American soil.

The group has taken advantage of the weakening of Yemen’s central government since 2011, when a popular uprising erupted that eventually forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power.

© – AFP 2014

Read: Amnesty report into US drone attacks raises possibility of war crimes >

Read: America is sending missiles and drones to Iraq >

Author
View 65 comments
Close
65 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute mac
    Favourite mac
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 8:16 AM

    I’ll just look out the window because you couldn’t forecast snow in the North Pole

    110
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Patrick Newell
    Favourite Michael Patrick Newell
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 9:33 AM

    Does the weather people use reading cards or a crystal ball, because at times it seems like it when it comes to weather predictions for Ireland

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Lisa Quinn
    Favourite Lisa Quinn
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 10:14 AM

    This summer can eat a Dck

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Padraig Quinn
    Favourite Padraig Quinn
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 10:10 AM

    What happened to there’s only going to be 4 wet days in July

    24
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jimmy Carroll
    Favourite Jimmy Carroll
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 12:49 PM

    Today’s forecast, warm&wet and sunny&cool

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scorcher Bois Gris
    Favourite Scorcher Bois Gris
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 11:00 AM

    #Summermearse

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Wiggy Wigsters Fitness
    Favourite Wiggy Wigsters Fitness
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 12:38 PM

    Get out enjoy the sunshine

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Charles Williams
    Favourite Charles Williams
    Report
    Aug 5th 2020, 11:35 PM

    That’s it warmer rain.?

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds