Third Deadly Drone Strike in a Week Hits Yemen Qaida
An apparent US drone strike has killed five suspected al-Qaida members in Yemen in the third such attack this week, a security official said on Saturday.
Washington is the only government to operate drones over Yemen but only sporadically releases statements on its long-running bombing campaign against the country's powerful al-Qaida branch.
The Friday evening strike in Marib province, east of the capital, killed local commander Abu Khaled al-Sanaani and four guards, the official said.
On Thursday, a drone strike in neighboring Al-Bayda province killed three suspected al-Qaida members, one of them a commander.
A Tuesday strike in Marib province, killed two suspected al-Qaida members and caused a large explosion when munitions they were transporting blew up.
Marib is largely in the hands of loyalists of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his allies in a Saudi-led coalition.
But al-Qaida has taken advantage of fighting with the Shiite rebels who control the capital to consolidate its longstanding presence in the province.
Washington considers al-Qaida's Yemen-based franchise to be its most dangerous and has kept up its drone war throughout the conflict.
Source: Agence France Presse
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