Drone strike kills two 'al-Qaeda operatives' in Yemen

A suspected US airstrike hit a vehicle in southern Yemen killing two alleged al-Qaeda members and wounding their driver, security sources said on Monday.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

13 June, 2016

US drones have carried out frequent airstrikes in war-torn Yemen [AFP]

A drone strike believed to have been carried out by a US aircraft killed two suspected al-Qaeda operatives in southern Yemen, officials have said.

The attack targeted a vehicle driving in Habban, killing "two al-Qaeda fighters and wounding their driver", security sources told reporters.

A confirmed US drone strike had killed two suspected al-Qaeda operatives in the southern province of Marib on Saturday.

US drones have carried out frequent airstrikes in war-torn Yemen, ostensibly targeting vehicles suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda operatives.

A March strike killed more than 70 fighters after it hit a training camp west of Mukalla, southeastern Yemen.

Al-Qaeda's local franchise has exploited the civil war in Yemen between Shia Houthi rebels and government forces to expand its presence in the south and southeast.

Yemen has been at war since September 2014, when Houthi rebels and their allies overran the capital forcing the internationally recognised government to flee south.

The Saudi-led coalition's military campaign in the Arab world's poorest country followed in March 2015. More than 6,000 people have since been killed, including 930 children.