# Drone Strikes in Yemen



## TruthSeeker

*Yemen: '50 Al-Qaeda militants' killed in airstrike*

last update: July 14, 14:01

Sanaa, 15 July (AKI) - An early morning airstrike in southern Yemen on Thursday killed dozens of alleged Al-Qaeda militants, according to Yemeni newspaper Akhbar al-Youm.

The dawn raid in Abyan province was conducted by an American unmanned aircraft which fired missiles at a police station occupied by insurgents, according to the report, citing an unnamed source.

Fighting between government forces and A-Qaeda linked militants has uprooted 70,000 people who have taken shelter in schools and abandoned houses, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch.

Yemen is battling Al-Qaeda, Islamist and separatist insurgencies while anti-government protests have applied further pressure to the embattled government.

Meanwhile, president Ali Abdullah Saleh is in Saudi Arabia recovering from burns he suffered last month in a bomb attack on the presidential palace in Sanaa. 

Yemen: '50 Al-Qaeda militants' killed in airstrike - Adnkronos Security


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## U-571

ohh my god, america now started killing innocents in yemen

middle east is going to shitt, just because of US


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## Transformers

i cant understand policy of americans....in libya they support Al qaeda and here they are bombing them.

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## TruthSeeker

Transformers said:


> i cant understand policy of americans....in libya they support Al qaeda and here they are bombing them.


 
You are misinformed or merely trolling. The US does not support al Qaeda anywhere on the planet.

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## Transformers

TruthSeeker said:


> You are misinformed or merely trolling. The US does not support al Qaeda anywhere on the planet.


 
» U.S. Government Backs Libyan Al-Qaeda While Hyping Terror Attacks Inside U.S. Alex Jones&#039; Infowars: There&#039;s a war on for your mind!

Jihadis who fought U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan now enjoy American support in Libya | Byron York | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Washington may arm Al-Qaeda-linked Libyan rebels &mdash; RT

UN, Obama Fighting Alongside Al-Qaeda in Libya

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## TruthSeeker

None of the above means that the USA supports al Qaeda. It merely means that there are al Qaeda people trying to position themselves to hijhack the Libyan revolution. The USA supports the Libyan revolution. It is impossible for the USA to prevent opportunistic al Qaeda types from trying to play their game. What is the alternative? Support Qaddafi? Get real.

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## U-571

Transformers said:


> » U.S. Government Backs Libyan Al-Qaeda While Hyping Terror Attacks Inside U.S. Alex Jones&#039; Infowars: There&#039;s a war on for your mind!
> 
> Jihadis who fought U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan now enjoy American support in Libya | Byron York | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner
> 
> Washington may arm Al-Qaeda-linked Libyan rebels &mdash; RT
> 
> UN, Obama Fighting Alongside Al-Qaeda in Libya


 
americans have long experience to create villians, like they do in hollywood, alquaeda is nothing but a brach of CIA operations, its like installing a bug somewhere and finding reasons to attack one country or one's soverignty, they have learned these techniqies since soviet afghan war

for 10 years bush's administrations could find osama, then obama found the impossible guy, also funny is, osama has many faces and voices

in CIA osama is rather agent osama or code name osama, what MI6 have agent 007, one osama killed, then make another agent osama like agent 007

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## illuzioN

U-571 said:


> ohh my god, america now started killing innocents in yemen
> 
> middle east is going to shitt, just because of US


 
Join us, or fight us.... pick a side

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## silko

TruthSeeker said:


> None of the above means that the USA supports al Qaeda. It merely means that there are al Qaeda people trying to position themselves to hijhack the Libyan revolution. The USA supports the Libyan revolution. It is impossible for the USA to prevent opportunistic al Qaeda types from trying to play their game. What is the alternative? Support Qaddafi? Get real.


 
there is an alternative. get out of libya, easy as that!  glad i could help!


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## U-571

illuzioN said:


> Join us, or fight us.... pick a side


 
what about unemployed america fighting for their economy and get rid of present situation


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## illuzioN

U-571 said:


> what about unemployed america fighting for their economy and get rid of present situation


 
is this thread about the US Economy? or the WOT in the God Forsaken Middle East?

If you want to talk about Economy we are doing something about it... How about your Economy? Hows it going?

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## U-571

illuzioN said:


> is this thread about the US Economy? or the WOT in the God Forsaken Middle East?
> 
> If you want to talk about Economy we are doing something about it... How about your Economy? Hows it going?


 
but we are talking abt fighting for america, why dont we start with fighting for sinking US economy and its unemployed citizens, and one and a half trillion foreign US dept and all depts you owe to your jewish banks with interest??

we are not discussing non issues here, our economy is also a blessing of your war inside pakistan, thanks to your drones and mass killings, our tourism has declined, our image is tarnished, investers have fled

pakistan is the best place to invest in the whole world because we have the deep sea port just at the mouth of starit of hormuz, we connect to central asia, china, middle east at the same place and have got plenty of rich minerals and cheap labour, but thanks to USA and its terrorism, neither we are safe in balochistan and nor in KP province.. what can you expect when your country kills 40,000 of our people..

while america maintains 102,000 soldiers in afghanistan. we just have to invest for 150,000 pakistan soldiers just along the afghan border, to feed them well so that they can fight an american war, to keep them alert just to protect that no talibans from afghanistan come and kill our citizens

the result we achieve by doing all this is more american and its allies pressure, you cry on the aid while the aid is nothing compared to the damages you make, you make india strong through nuclear deals, in this way we now have to spend more to keep the nuclear balance,, this requires more money, more expenditure on defense, you are giving india all it wants so that pakistan can be insecure, ask your govt, for what it has done, then we also have to deal with your whinning cry because of israeli diplomatic pressure, hey, pakistan is arming with more nuke arsenal, 'its a danger for israel and india and we love india'

before WOT we were cruising a peace, stability and development of 8% a year

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## TruthSeeker

In this article about the US pressure on al Qaeda in general are some words about Yemen.


*U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda on brink of collapse*

Greg Miller, Tuesday, July 26, 10:01 PM

AQAP, as the Yemen-based group is known, has emerged as the most dangerous of those affiliates. The group is responsible for recent plots, including the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 and the attempt to mail parcels packed with explosives to U.S. addresses last year.

The U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, the elite military unit that carried out the bin Laden raid, has led the pursuit of AQAP with Special Operations advisers working alongside Yemeni forces, and both piloted and drone aircraft patrolling from above.

Just days after bin Laden was killed, JSOC was in position to deliver a follow-on blow to AQAP. At least three U.S. aircraft, including a drone, fired rockets at a pickup truck in which Aulaqi was traveling. Despite the barrage, the New Mexico native known for fiery online sermons was able to switch vehicles and escape.

U.S. officials described the miss as a major setback. &#8220;We missed the opportunity to do two quick kills of senior al-Qaeda guys,&#8221; said a senior U.S. military official familiar with JSOC operations.

In part because of such struggles, the Obama administration is bolstering the CIA&#8217;s role in Yemen, seeking to replicate its pursuit of al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The agency is expected to work closely with Saudi Arabia, exploiting the kingdom&#8217;s close ties to Yemen&#8217;s most influential tribes in an effort to develop new networks of sources on AQAP.

At the same time, the agency is building a desert airstrip so that it can begin flying armed drones over Yemen. The facility, which is scheduled to be completed in September, is designed to shield the CIA&#8217;s aircraft, and their sophisticated surveillance equipment, from observers at busier regional military hubs such as Djibouti, where the JSOC drones are based.

The Washington Post is withholding the specific location of the CIA facility at the administration&#8217;s request.

Al-Qaeda could collapse, U.S. officials say - The Washington Post


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## TruthSeeker

*Militants killed in air attacks in south Yemen*

By Mohammed Al-Qadhi, Monday, August 1, 6:43 PM

SANAA, Yemen  At least 15 suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed and 17 others were wounded in three air strikes Monday in the restive southern Yemeni province of Abyan, security and local officials said.

*There were conflicting reports about who was responsible for the strikes. Yemeni local and security officials said U.S. Predator drones hit the militants. But Reuters news service reported that Yemeni warplanes conducted at least one of the attacks, on the village of al-Khamilah.*

U.S. military officials were not immediately available to comment.

The security and local officials said the first strike targeted the al-Wahdah stadium and surrounding areas. They said it destroyed military equipment that the militants seized during a June 30 battle to control the stadium in which dozens of soldiers and militants were killed.

They said the second strike hit the al-Amodiah region between Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan taken over by militants in May, and the city of Jaar. The third attack hit the al-Khamilah area, which the militants also use as a hideout.

The officials said that Naser al-Shadadi, a leading militant, was among the slain. Shadadi escaped an air strike on his house in June.

Meanwhile, five people, including two soldiers and a civilian, were killed in clashes between gunmen and the elite Republican Guard forces Monday in the northern part of Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, security and local officials said.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that two soldiers were killed and four others wounded, blaming the opposition Islamist al-Islah party. Local officials said that two gunmen and a civilian were killed and three gunmen and six civilians were wounded.

Military aircraft were seen hovering over Taiz, witnesses said, adding that several houses were damaged in the shelling by the Republican Guard, led by President Ali Abdullah Salehs son, Ahmed.

Local officials said the gunmen damaged a military tank and seized another. The clashes were described as the fiercest in Taiz since May 29, when security forces broke up a protest camp. The city is a hotbed of the uprising against Salehs government.

Militants killed in air attacks in south Yemen - The Washington Post


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## 53fd

TruthSeeker said:


> You are misinformed or merely trolling. The US does not support al Qaeda anywhere on the planet.


 
False.


Pakistan is often accused by the US of harboring terrorists, double dealing with the international community, amongst many other things. The international media makes it sound as if Pakistan is the only one that does these things. 

Is Pakistan solely responsible for these things? Let us analyze certain things. The creation of the mother of all terrorist groups, the Mujahideen, was a strategy formulated by Brzezinski & Jimmy Carter. Against the popular perception, the Mujahideen were NOT used a resistance force to protect the Afghans, but as a means of breaking up the Soviet Union. In fact, the Mujahideen were created by the US before the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. So it is futile to accuse Pakistan with the creation of the Mujahideen, as the Mujahideen were not a resistance movement for Afghanistan, but a means of breaking up the Soviet Union, something that didn't concern Pakistan but the US. Pakistan tagged along with the US & Saudi Arabia for training the Mujahideen, but the Mujahideen was the creation of the US.

The Soviets then tried to shore up the Afghan government against the Mujahideen, which then led to the Soviet-Afghan war, & the breakup of Soviet Union. The Mujahideen later off-shooted into Taliban, Hizb-e-Islami Gulbideen, Haqqani network, & other local groups in S.Asia, & 'Al-Qaeda' as a global terrorist network (the IMU/SIPR & LeT etc are all Al-Qaeda affiliates in Central & S.Asia respectively, as well as various other groups in the Middle East & Africa, such as the AQAP & AQIM/Al-Shabaab respectively). 

After the Soviet Union broke up into Russia, the Al-Qaeda affiliates in Central Asia, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (in Uzbekistan & Tajikistan), SIPR & the Russian Federation Republic of Chechnya (in Chechnya), as well as others have been using terrorism to overthrow &/or break away from the former Soviet territories (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan & others). In other words, all the problems faced in the region (South & Central Asia) today are the creation of the US, from 1979.

Iraq had practically no Al-Qaeda members in it when the US attacked it. After the US attacked Iraq, the Al-Qaeda members started entering Iraq. The same thing with Afghanistan. Before 9/11, there were few Al-Qaeda members, but when the US attacked Afghanistan, the Al-Qaeda & its affiliates from Central, South Asia & the Middle East started entering into Afghanistan. The US support for the Libyan rebels with strong ties to Al-Qaeda from Iraq & other places is well documented as well. In other words, it is very hypocritical to suggest that Pakistan harbors Islamic terrorism as per policy, when it was the creation of the US, & Pakistan (& the whole region) has to live by the monster created by the US. Similarly, with the rise of the Arab Spring in the Middle East (supported by the CIA), there is also the rise of the AQAP in Yemen & Saudi Arabia, & there is also a rise of the AQIM in North Africa (being inspired by the 'Al-Qaeda revolution' in Libya & Egypt). The US clearly uses Islamic militancy in the shape of Al-Qaeda & its affiliate groups to achieve its geopolitical, strategic objectives in the region.

The US has always accused Pakistan of double dealing in the WOT, but it is the US that is asking the UN to take off senior Taliban leaders (that are opposed to Pakistan, such as Faqir Mohammad) from their sanctions list. The US has refused to tackle the safe havens for Al-Qaeda & the Taliban in Kunar & Nuristan in Afghanistan where Fazalulah, Qari Zia Rehman, Hakeemullah Mehsud get refuge to attack Pakistan. The US is busy brokering peace deals with the Taliban, but asking Pakistan to attack them.


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## TruthSeeker

The USA does not support al Qaeda anywhere. All of your post above does not change that simple fact.


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## 53fd

TruthSeeker said:


> The USA does not support al Qaeda anywhere. All of your post above does not change that simple fact.


 
Then what do you call the Libyan rebels with strong Al-Qaeda connections supported by the US? Al-Qaeda is not simply one group. The US has supported Al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Bosnia (1992-95), Kosovo (1997-98) & Libya (2011). Osama bin Laden & his fighters got money & security training from the US:

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Who is Osama Bin Laden?

The US has used al-Qaeda to increase their influence. For example Azerbaijan in 1993. A pro-Moscow president was ousted after large numbers of Arab and other foreign Mujahideen veterans were secretly imported from Afghanistan, on an airline organized by three former veterans of CIA's Air America, namely Richard Secord, Harry Aderholt, and Ed Dearborn.

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## TruthSeeker

*US airstrikes in southern Yemen kill 30 AQAP fighters: report*

By BILL ROGGIO, September 1, 2011

Yemeni officials claimed that more than 30 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed during US airstrikes in the south over the past two days. Also, US intelligence officials have expressed doubts about reports that AQAP's top leader was killed.

"The airstrikes freed a Yemeni military unit besieged in southeast Abyan for several weeks," unnamed Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.

US military officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on airstrikes, but said US forces are supporting Yemeni forces.

"We continue to provide counterterrorism aid, intelligence, and logistical support to Yemeni forces," one official said.

While the unit that was freed was not named, the 25th Yemeni Mechanized Brigade is known to have been under siege by AQAP fighters just outside of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province. In an interview with Asharq Alawsat that was published on July 30, Brigadier General Mohammed al Sawmali, the commander of the 25th Mechanized Brigade, admitted the US was providing logistical support to his forces but denied US forces were fighting against AQAP.

"The Americans have parachuted some supplies.... All that we have received from the US side was a shipment of food supplies, and I do not have any other information," Sawmali said when asked if he received direct US military support.

Heavy fighting has been reported during the past week in and around the city of Zinjibar, which was taken over by AQAP and Ansar al Sharia, its political front group, in May. The southern Yemeni cities of Sharqa and Azzan, as well as vast regions in the south, are also under the control of AQAP. The Yemeni military claimed it has cleared AQAP from several areas in Abyan and killed more than 300 AQAP fighters in the province since May.

Several major clashes have been reported in the Dawfas area outside of Zinjibar, where more than 40 AQAP and 23 Yemeni soldiers have been reported killed since Aug. 25, according to press reports compiled by The Long War Journal.

Nasir al Wuhayshi, the head of AQAP, is rumored to have been killed during fighting in the Dawfas area over the past week. The reports have not been confirmed, however, and AQAP has not released a statement announcing his death. US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said they are aware of reports of his death but do not believe he was killed.

"We see no evidence that he was killed in the incident earlier this week," one official said.

Read more: US airstrikes in southern Yemen kill 30 AQAP fighters: report - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*U.S. increases Yemen drone strikes*

By Karen DeYoung, Published: September 16 | Updated: Saturday, September 17, 2:39 AM

The Obama administration has significantly increased the frequency of drone strikes and other air attacks against the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen in recent months amid rising concern about political collapse there.

Some of the the strikes, carried out by the militarys Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have been focused in the southern part of the country, where insurgent forces have for the first time conquered and held territory as the Yemeni government continues to struggle against escalating opposition to President Ali Abdullah Salehs 33-year rule.

Unlike in Pakistan, where the CIA has presidential authorization to launch drone strikes at will, each U.S. attack in Yemen  and those being conducted in nearby Somalia, most recently on Thursday near the southern port city of Kismayo  requires White House approval, senior administration officials said.

The officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, said intended targets must be drawn from an approved list of key members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula deemed by U.S. intelligence officials to be involved in planning attacks against the West. White House counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan last week put their number at a couple of dozen, maybe.

Although several unconfirmed strikes each week have been reported by local media in Yemen and Somalia, the administration has made no public acknowledgment of the escalated campaign, and officials who discussed the increase declined to provide numbers.

The heightened air activity coincides with the administrations determination this year that AQAP, as the Yemen-based group is known, poses a more significant threat to the United States than the core al-Qaeda group based in Pakistan. The administration has also concluded that AQAP has recruited at least a portion of the main insurgent group in Somalia, al-Shabab, to its anti-Western cause.

From its initial months in office, the Obama administration has debated whether to extend the air attacks that have proved so effective in Pakistan to the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Military and intelligence officials have long argued in favor of attacks against al-Shabab camps in Somalia, which have been under overhead surveillance for years. Other officials have questioned the legal and moral justification for intervening in what, until recently, has been a largely domestic conflict.

The administration has said its legal authority to conduct such strikes, whether with fixed-wing planes, cruise missiles or drones, derives from the 2001 congressional resolution authorizing attacks against al-Qaeda and protection of the U.S. homeland, as well as the international law of self-defense.

The United States does not view our authority to use military force against al-Qaeda as being restricted solely to hot battlefields like Afghanistan, Brennan said in remarks prepared for delivery Friday night at Harvard Law School. We reserve the right to take unilateral action if or when other governments are unwilling or unable to take the necessary actions themselves.
That does not mean we can use military force whenever we want, wherever we want, Brennan said. International legal principles, including respect for a states sovereignty and the laws of war, impose important constraints on our ability to act unilaterally  and on the way in which we can use force  in foreign territories.

In Somalia, the administration backs a tenuous government whose control does not extend beyond the capital, Mogadishu.

Until May, the first and only known drone strike in Yemen was launched by the CIA in 2002. As part of its stepped-up military cooperation with Yemen, the Obama administration has used manned aircraft to strike at targets indicated by U.S. and Yemeni military intelligence forces on the ground. In May, JSOC first used a drone to kill two AQAP operatives as part of its new escalation in Yemen.

This summer, the CIA was also tasked with expanding its Yemen operations, and the agency is building its own drone base in the region. It is not clear whether the unilateral strike authority the CIA has in Pakistan will be extended to Yemen.

Administration officials have described the expanded drone campaign as utilizing a mix of assets, and a senior military official said he knew of no plans or discussions to change the nature of operations.

The new base doesnt connote that [the CIA] will be in the lead, the official said. It offers better teamwork and collaboration between the agencies. 

U.S. increases Yemen drone strikes - The Washington Post


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## TruthSeeker

*Air Raid Kills Four Al-Qaeda Operatives in Abyan*

Posted on 21 September 2011 by admin

ABYAN (AdenOnline)  An air raid, believed to be by American warplanes, killed four Al- Qaeda operatives including a senior leader Tuesday afternoon, sources in Abyan said.

Eyewitnesses in Mahfed District of Abyan said that an American military air craft bombed a vehicle was heading on a mountainous road in Saraw narrow area.

Press report talked about the presence of Fahd Al-Qusa, the leader in the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, but it is still not clear if he was the target of this air raid.

In a related development, seven of Al-Qaeda elements were killed in Shukra District of the southern Yemeni province of Abyan by air raids aimed some of their gatherings in the strategic port city.

These developments come while Yemen busy with the last events in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that caused tens casualties among anti-government protests, and what followed them of armed clashes in the capital and other cities.

Air Raid Kills Four Al-Qaeda Operatives in Abyan | Aden Online

---------- Post added at 09:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------

*US airstrikes kill AQAP fighters in southern Yemen*

By Bill Roggio, September 22, 2011

The US killed several members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during airstrikes in an area of southern Yemen, according to reports from the region.

Four AQAP fighters were killed yesterday by an airstrike in a mountain pass in the southern province of Abyan, according to Aden Online. Witnesses claimed the strike was carried out by "American military air craft."

Fahd al Quso, a top operational commander of AQAP who has been indicted for his role in the suicide attack on the USS Cole in December 2000 and was officially added to the list of designated terrorists in December 2010, is rumored to have been the target of the strike. He has not been reported as killed or wounded. In the past, Quso was reported killed while in Pakistan, but in December 2010 he granted a media interview and mocked the reports.

In a second strike yesterday, which is also thought to have been carried out by US aircraft, seven AQAP fighters were killed in the southern port city of Shaqra, which is currently under the control of the terrorist group.

US military officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on airstrikes, but said US forces are supporting Yemeni forces.

It is unclear if the strikes were carried out by manned strike aircraft or the unmanned US 'drones,' the deadly Predators and Reapers operated by the CIA. The CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command are known to fly armed Predators from bases in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Bases are also being built in Ethiopia and an unnamed country on the Arabian Peninsula.

The US is known to have carried out at least 13 air and cruise missile strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders and fighters since mid-December 2009. Seven of those strikes have taken place this year. Other recent airstrikes in southern Yemen are thought to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US. The last confirmed strike, on Sept. 1, took place in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan that until recently was under the control of AQAP and its front group, Ansar al Sharia. The strike reportedly killed 30 AQAP fighters.

Read more: US airstrikes kill AQAP fighters in southern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*U.S.-born al-Qaeda leader Aulaqi is killed*

By Sudarsan Raghavan, Friday, September 30, 5:38 AM

SANAA, Yemen  Anwar al-Aulaqi, a radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric and one of the most influential al-Qaeda leaders wanted by the United States, was killed Friday in a CIA drone strike in northern Yemen, U.S. and Yemeni authorities said, eliminating a prominent terrorist recruiter who inspired attacks on U.S. soil.

The strike also killed a second U.S. citizen  Samir Khan, the co-editor of an al-Qaeda magazine  and two other unidentified al-Qaeda operatives, the Yemeni government said. But tribal leaders in the area said at least seven people were killed. They identified one of the others as al-Qaeda militant named Salem bin Arfaaj.

One of the world's most wanted terrorists has been killed, according to the Yemeni government. U.S. born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi was killed. Tribal leaders say an air strike targeted an al-Qaeda convoy. 

In Washington, senior Obama administration officials confirmed that Aulaqi, 40, a dual national of the United States and Yemen, and Khan were killed in a drone strike on their convoy.

The strike was carried out by a CIA drone operating from a new agency base on the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. officials said. It marks the first time that the CIA has launched a drone strike in Yemen since 2002, and the first indication that the new base is operational. The Post is withholding details on the specific location of the base at the request of the Obama administration.

President Obama called Aulaqis death a major blow to al-Qaedas most active operational affiliate and described him as the leader of external operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group known as AQAP.

In that role, he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans, Obama said at a ceremony honoring the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Fort Myer.

Khan, a member of AQAP, co-edited the groups slick English-language Internet magazine, Inspire, which was intended to recruit Westerners to al-Qaedas fold. Aulaqi was also believed to have played a role in creating the online-only magazine, whose first issue in July 2010 included an article titled Making a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. Khan, a Saudi-born U.S. citizen raised in Queens, N.Y., and Charlotte, traveled to Yemen to join AQAP and probably operated under Aulaqis direction, terrorism experts have said.

Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemeni government spokesman, said in an e-mail that Yemeni intelligence had pinpointed Aulaqis hideout and monitored his movements before the airstrike.

The first word of the strike came from the Yemeni Defense Ministry, which sent a text message sent to journalists announcing that the terrorist Anwar al-Aulaqi has been killed along with some of his companions. It did not provide further details. Aulaqi had been falsely reported killed before. He had been the target of previous U.S. strikes and was quoted as laughing off an attempt to kill him in May.

In a separate e-mailed statement, the Yemeni government said Aulaqi was targeted and killed five miles from the town of Khashef in Yemens northern Jawf province, 87 miles east of the capital, Sanaa. The attack, the statement said, was launched at 9:55 a.m. Friday local time.

Anwar al-Aulaqi, U.S.-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda, killed in Yemen - The Washington Post

---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 PM ----------

^^^ Praise be to Allah for His JUSTICE!


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## VKVM

The U.S. is a nation of cowards. Try something like that in a superpower nation like India and we will give the cowardly Americans a Brahmos for every one of their carriers that sails and every one of their F-22 that flies.

The U.S. can be defined as a cowardly and barbaric nation that only attacks the weak. No match against Vietnam, no match against Korea, and definitely no match against superpower India.


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## VKVM

As the largest democratic country in the known universe, it is the duty of India and every Indian to uphold freedom and democracy everywhere and anywhere. The U.S. presents itself as the single largest terrorist body in the whole world. Everywhere they go, they steal, they lie, they kill, they massacre, they slaughter-- this is *NOT democracy*, *this is TERRORISM*. Nazi Germany is a saint compared to what the U.S. is. 

India will not stand silently as the world is exploited and harmed by the United States of Terrorism.

Hey cowboys, our Brahmos are ready, are you?


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP's senior bomb maker Asiri not killed in strike that killed Awlaki*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 2, 2011

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's top bomb maker was not killed in the US airstrike in Yemen that is thought to have killed American citizens and AQAP operatives Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan. But two other AQAP operatives killed in the strike have been identified.

Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri "was not killed nor targeted in this operation," a senior Yemeni official who wishes to remain anonymous told The Long War Journal. Asiri was thought to have been killed, but his death was not confirmed by US officials.

The US added Asiri to the list of designated terrorists in March of this year. Asiri is perhaps best known for assembling the explosive device that was used by his brother in an attempt to assassinate Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of the Interior. Asiri's brother killed only himself; Saud was lightly wounded. 

Five people, including Awlaki, a senior AQAP propagandist, cleric, and recruiter, and Khan, the editor of Inspire magazine, the terror group's English language magazine, were said to have been killed in the Oct. 1 strike in al Jawf province. 

Two of the other operatives killed have been identified as Abdul Rahman bin Arfaj and Mohammed Salem al Na'aj, the Yemeni official said.

Arfaj was the "brother of the owner of the house that Awlaki left before the air strike," the official said. The brother who owns the house is named Khames bin Arfaj, and was "a member of Islah who was the party nominee for the 2003 Parliamentary elections."

The Islah Party is the main opposition party in Yemen. One of its most prominent wings consists of Salafists who are led by Abdul Majeed al Zindani, who has been described by the US government as Osama bin Laden's mentor. Zindani is on the US's list of specially designated global terrorists. The Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood also is a major faction in Islah. The Yemeni government has accused elements of Islah of teaming up with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to conduct attacks against military forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Na'aj, the other fighter killed in the strike, was a member of the Obaidah tribe in Marib province, the Yemeni official said.

US and Yemeni officials are confident that Awlaki was killed in the Oct. 1 strike, which was carried out by a unit comprised of CIA operatives and Joint Special Operations Forces troops operating Predator and Reaper drones from bases in the region. The Yemeni official said his government is certain that Khan was also killed. AQAP has not released a statement announcing the martyrdom of either Awlaki or Khan.

Read more: AQAP's senior bomb maker Asiri not killed in strike that killed Awlaki - The Long War Journal


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## S10

One thing that disturbs me about the killing of Awlaki is American's willingness to kill its own citizens without trial. The U.S government lists Awlaki as a terrorist, which is fine if they have the evidence to paint him as one. However, he was simply put on the targetted killing list, and never been tried in court for his alleged crimes.

In short, the U.S government once again sh*t all over the principles of fundamental justice. This isn't the first time and definitely wouldn't be the last.


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## TruthSeeker

US Predators kill five AQAP fighters in southern Yemen

By BILL ROGGIO, October 6, 2011

Unmanned US Predators operated by the CIA and the Joint Special Operations command killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters during an airstrike in southern Yemen yesterday.

The strike took place in the Al Arqoub area east of Zinjibar, the embattled provincial capital of Abyan in southern Yemen, according to The Associated Press. Seven fighters were also wounded in the strike. The exact target of the strike has not been disclosed, and no senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders have been reported killed.

The US government has decided to focus on a small core of AQAP operatives who focus on striking the US and are ignoring the wider AQAP insurgency in Yemen, according to a report in The Washington Post. The US would "fight AQAP only to prevent it from attacking the United States and its interests," the newspaper reported. White House counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan put the number of AQAP fighters viewed as a direct threat to the US as "a couple of dozen, maybe."

The US is known to have carried out at least 14 air and cruise missile strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders and fighters since mid-December 2009. One other strike was carried out in 2002. Other recent airstrikes are thought to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US.

The use of US airpower in Yemen has increased significantly over the past year. Nine of the 14 strikes since 2009 have taken place this year. The last confirmed strike, on Sept. 30, killed American AQAP operatives Anwar al Awalki and Samir Khan. The Americans were top AQAP propagandists. Awlaki also served as a top ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander. Two other AQAP operatives known as Abdul Rahman bin Arfaj and Mohammed Salem al Na'aj, were also killed. Senior AQAP bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri was initially thought to have been killed, but is now believed to have survived the strike.

The US military's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA are known to operate the armed Predators and Reapers from bases in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, and from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Bases are also being built in Ethiopia and an unnamed country on the Arabian Peninsula. The bases are to be used to attack al Qaeda affiliates Shabaab, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Since December 2009, some of the top leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have been targeted in US airstrikes, including Abu Basir al Wuhayshi, the group's leader; Said Ali al Shihri, the second in command; Abu Hurayrah Qasim al Raymi, the military commander; Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, the top ideologue; and Awlaki.

Read more: US Predators kill five AQAP fighters in southern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP confirms Anwar al Awlaki killed in US drone strike*

By THOMAS JOSCELYNOctober 10, 2011

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has confirmed that Anwar al Awlaki was killed in a US drone strike last month, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. In a statement released to online jihadist forums, AQAP also confirmed the killing of Samir Khan, who edited AQAP's online English publication, Inspire.

Ironically, AQAP's own martyrdom statement confirms Awlaki's and Khan's roles in the organization, as the terror group does not issue such statements for just anyone. Moreover, AQAP refers to Awlaki as the "mujahid heroic sheikh."

There is another layer of irony in AQAP's attempt to play up the American legal debate as well. In an issue of Khan's Inspire magazine published last year, Awlaki railed against Western laws and "civil states."

Awlaki's piece was written in response to "The New Mardin Declaration," which was published by Islamic scholars in March 2010. The moderate scholars called on Muslims, Christians, and Jews to live in peaceful coexistence in the modern, Western nation state.

For Awlaki, this was simply unacceptable because it means that Muslims would have to accept Western law.

"At a time when American expenditure on its army is anything but decreasing, these scholars are asking us to give up any form of resistance and live as law - Western law that is - abiding citizens," Awlaki sneered. The al Qaeda cleric continued: "They are asking us to live as sheep, as pleasantly as a flock of tame, peaceful, and obedient sheep. One billion and a quarter Muslims with no say on the world stage, stripped from their right to live as Muslims under the law of Islam, directly and indirectly occupied by the West, are asked to live as sheep. Is that the role of scholars?"

AQAP describes Awlaki as the "preaching sheikh." Critics of the drone strike on Awlaki have claimed that he was merely a radical preacher with no operational role in al Qaeda's terrorism. However, emails released during the trial of a convicted al Qaeda recruit show that Awlaki played a direct role in orchestrating terrorist plots.

For example, Awlaki explained in one email to Rajib Karim, who was plotting a "spectacular" attack on airliners, that AQAP's "highest priority is the US." Awlaki continued: "Anything there, even if on a smaller scale compared to what we may do in the UK, would be our choice. So the question is: with the people you have, is it possible to get a package or a person with a package on board a flight heading to the US?"

Other emails showed that Awlaki explored granular details of the plot, including airport and airline security, with Karim.

The Obama administration has also alleged that Awlaki played a direct role in Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab's failed Christmas Day 2009 terror plot, as well as other AQAP plots and terrorist operations.

In court filings last year, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper explained that Awlaki was not just a spiritual advisor for Abdulmutallab. Shortly after Abdulmutallab swore allegiance to the emir of AQAP, Nasir al Wuhayshi, he "received instructions from [Awlaki]...to detonate an explosive device aboard a US airplane over US airspace." Awlaki was directly involved in "preparing" Abdulmutallab for the Christmas Day 2009 operation, according to Clapper.

In a 2010 press release, Stuart Levey, who was then Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Treasury Department, said that Awlaki "has involved himself in every aspect of the supply chain of terrorism -- fundraising for terrorist groups, recruiting and training operatives, and planning and ordering attacks on innocents."

In designating Awlaki an al Qaeda, the Treasury Department noted that he had "taken on an increasingly operational role" in AQAP since late 2009.

Awlaki also inspired numerous terrorist plots in which he apparently played no operational role. For instance, Major Nidal Malik Hasan corresponded with Awlaki repeatedly in the months leading up to the Nov. 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Afterward, Awlaki referred to Hasan as one of his "students."

A Congressional Joint Inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks also found that Awlaki was a "spiritual advisor" for at least two of the hijackers.

Read more: AQAP confirms Anwar al Awlaki killed in US drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*Senior al-Qaeda figure 'killed in Yemen'*

Yemeni defence ministry says al-Qaeda media chief among nine killed in air raid in south of the country.
Last Modified: 15 Oct 2011 19:59

Egyptian-born Ibrahim al-Banna was killed in Shabwa province by an air strike
The media chief for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been killed along with eight other people in an air strike in southern Yemen, according to the Yemeni defence ministry.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Egyptian-born Ibrahim al-Banna was killed on Friday night in Shabwa province.

Security officials said the air strike was among five that targeted al-Qaeda positions in Shabwa.

The statement added that al-Banna was wanted "internationally" for "planning attacks both inside and outside Yemen.

"He was one of the group's most dangerous operatives," it said.

The first strike late Friday targeted a house in the Azan district of Shabwa, but hit just after al-Qaeda fighters had a meeting in the building, security officials and tribal elders said.

They said a second strike then targeted two sport utility vehicles in which al-Banna was traveling along with several others, destroying the vehicles and leaving the men's bodies charred.

It was not clear whether other participants in the meeting were targeted in separate strikes.

Senior al-Qaeda figure 'killed in Yemen' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English


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## TruthSeeker

*Nine killed in US drone strikes on Yemen*

Laura Kasinof, October 17, 2011

ADEN: Air strikes, believed to be by US drones, have killed at least nine people in Yemen, including a senior official of the regional branch of al-Qaeda and an American, the 17-year-old son of an al-Qaeda official killed by the US last month, according to the government and local reports.

The US drone strike that killed al-Qaeda senior official Anwar al-Awlaki was particularly controversial in the US because despite being a US citizen, he was killed without due process.

*The killing of his son, Abdel Rahman al-Awlaki, 17, in the attack on Friday night, if confirmed, would be the second time an American has been killed by the US.*

Yemeni authorities said there were two air strikes in Shabwa province on Friday night, and that Ibrahim al-Banna, the Egyptian-born leader of the media wing of al-Qaeda, was killed. Six others were wounded, according to a statement on the official Saba news agency.

Local reports said nine people were killed in the air strikes.

Read more: Nine killed in US drone strikes on Yemen


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## TruthSeeker

*U.S. launches airstrike against al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen*

By Karen DeYoung, Tuesday, January 31, 2:32 PM

The U.S. military launched an airstrike against Yemen&#8217;s al-Qaeda affiliate on Tuesday, targeting an area of the country where the group is increasingly asserting its influence.

At least a dozen people were killed in the strike, including insurgents from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and local militants, according to some reports. Other accounts put the death toll at about half that number.

&#8201;The death of Osama bin Laden has not fully disabled his terrorist group. Here&#8217;s a look at individuals deemed the most wanted terrorists in al-Qaeda.

Abdul Monem al-Fahtani, said to be a mid-level AQAP leader, was reportedly among the dead. Fahtani has long been on terrorist target lists of both the Yemeni and U.S. governments. He was the target of an attack by Yemeni forces in late 2010, although his death was never confirmed.

Tuesday&#8217;s attack was carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command, which operates alongside the CIA in Yemen. It was unclear whether it involved unmanned drones, cruise missiles or piloted aircraft. All have been used in previous attacks in Yemen.

The strike follows a lull in U.S. air attacks in Yemen after the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born radical cleric and AQAP leader who was killed in a drone strike in September.

Administration officials have expressed concern over AQAP&#8217;s expansion in southern Yemen, where various groups of local insurgents have taken control of territory during the political upheaval that has swept the country over the past year.

Some analysts have speculated that AQAP has at least temporarily shifted its focus from international terrorism to domestic goals in Yemen, joining forces with other militant groups to claim a geographic base from which to attack the government.

&#8220;The group is particularly strong in the Abyan and Shabwah [provinces], and they&#8217;ll most likely expand from there to establish themselves as a force in the surrounding provinces,&#8221; said a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence and counterterrorism matters.

But &#8220;AQAP hasn&#8217;t changed its two main aims, which are to attack the West, while undermining the government of Yemen to solidify their safe haven there,&#8221; the official said. &#8220;They may have more success at the latter if they continue to take advantage of the political unrest there, which is going to be tense for some time.&#8221;

U.S. officials have insisted that political turmoil in Yemen, where violence has repeatedly erupted between opposition forces and those loyal to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has not interfered with Yemeni cooperation on counterterrorism operations.

Although the U.S. military took the lead in Tuesday&#8217;s strike, the CIA, which is seen as more effective in building human intelligence networks, has taken a more prominent role in the operations in recent months, said a former U.S. official with knowledge of the operations.

The CIA has also been able to develop a much closer relationship with Yemeni intelligence officials, the former official said. Those relationships proved crucial in the Awlaki strike, when the CIA was led to Awlaki&#8217;s location by a Yemeni intelligence source.
eda affiliate in Yemen

In the wake of the Awlaki killing, there has been a significant slowing in drone strikes in Yemen, in part because AQAP leaders have become more disciplined in their actions &#8212; relying on couriers instead of cellphones, for example, and not returning to the same places.

&#8220;Of all the al-Qaeda offshoots, AQAP has been the best at learning lessons,&#8221; the former official said.

Yemen has become a template for growing CIA and JSOC counterterrorism collaboration. Unlike in Pakistan, where the CIA has had sole responsibility for hundreds of drone strikes against alleged insurgent safe havens in the tribal regions along the Afghanistan border, both the CIA and the military have participated in the Yemen strikes.

The CIA&#8217;s drone strikes in Pakistan have been far more extensive, and more controversial, than the joint operations in Yemen. Opponents in this country, including human rights activists and international law specialists, have been repeatedly stymied in efforts to force the administration to reveal more details about the secret drone program and civilian casualties it might have caused.

A federal court found last fall that the CIA&#8217;s careful avoidance of any public mention of drones meant that it remained an off-limits intelligence matter.

President Obama may have aided the cause of those arguing for more transparency, however, in comments he made during a &#8220;virtual interview&#8221; held Monday by Google and YouTube.

Speaking in far more specific terms than any previous administration official, Obama said that &#8220;I want to make sure that people understand that drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties. For the most part, they have been very precise, precision strikes against al-Qaeda and their affiliates.&#8221;

The perception that &#8220;we&#8217;re just sending in a whole bunch of strikes willy-nilly,&#8221; Obama said, was incorrect. &#8220;This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases and so on.&#8221;

&#8220;I think that we have to be judicious in how we use drones,&#8221; Obama said.

U.S. launches airstrike against al Qaeda in Yemen - The Washington Post


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## tombrady

Good to know that we can strike anywhere we want in the world and no one can stop us.

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## TruthSeeker

*Yemen officials: US drone kills 7 al-Qaida members
*

Published April 14, 2012, Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen &#8211; A U.S. drone strike killed seven suspected al-Qaida members believed to be heading toward a restive province where Yemeni forces have been intensely battling the terror group, Yemeni officials said.

The unmanned U.S. drone targeted a vehicle in the province of Bayda, south of the capital of Sanaa, killing the seven people inside on the spot, according to two Yemeni military officials.

A statement from the Ministry of Defense said only that a jet fired a missile at a vehicle carrying al-Qaida members, destroying it and the people inside. The statement did not clarify whether the strike was American or Yemeni. The discrepancy could not be immediately clarified.

One of the Yemeni officials said the militants were heading to Abyan province where government forces are engaged in ongoing clashes with militants. Yemeni officials said more than 200 militants have been killed in fighting in the province over the last week, as Yemen tries to bring the restive area back under its control.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials, but Washington has carried out deadly airstrikes in Yemen in the past. Last year, an American drone strike killed U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and a second American, Samir Khan, an al-Qaida propagandist.

Witnesses said the strike Saturday turned the vehicle into a charred skeleton along with the bodies of the people inside.

Abdel-Salam al-Ansi said he heard a strong explosion and then rushed outside to the scene.

"The car had been turned into a ball of fire," he said.

Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the movement's most dangerous offshoots, and the U.S. considers the impoverished country as a key battleground in the war against al-Qaida.

The terror network has had a presence in Yemen for years, but expanded its influence during last year's political upheaval when millions of Yemenis rallied across the country demanding the ouster of their longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. The militant group seized control of several towns in the south during that time.

Saleh stepped down in February and the new president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has pledged to restructure the Yemeni army and purge it of loyalists to the former ruler in order to combat the terror network.

Al-Qaida has staged several successful assaults on ill-prepared and demoralized troops, but also appears to have suffered some significant defeats.

On Saturday, al-Qaida fighters in pickup trucks attacked a security checkpoint on the outskirts of the southern port city of Aden and killed five troops, said a Yemeni security official. Eight militants also died in the attack.

In another incident, militants kidnapped a senior intelligence officer and two soldiers in the town of Radda south of the capital Sanaa, another security official said.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

Read more: Yemen officials: US drone kills 7 al-Qaida members | Fox News

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## USAHawk785

Keep it up ! Wipe em all out.

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## lvwilly

tombrady said:


> Good to know that we can strike anywhere we want in the world and no one can stop us.



Yeah, even our own civilians (Al-Awlaki)


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## techdiver

lvwilly said:


> Yeah, even our own civilians (Al-Awlaki)



I wish we could bring that dirt bag back from the dead so that we could smoke him again.



U-571 said:


> what about unemployed america fighting for their economy and get rid of present situation




Yeah... And there's no poverty in Pakistan ? Next to 'poverty' in the dictionary there is a map of Pakistan.



VKVM said:


> The U.S. is a nation of cowards. Try something like that in a superpower nation like India and we will give the cowardly Americans a Brahmos for every one of their carriers that sails and every one of their F-22 that flies.
> 
> The U.S. can be defined as a cowardly and barbaric nation that only attacks the weak. No match against Vietnam, no match against Korea, and definitely no match against superpower India.




Shut up and fetch me my donuts. And what are you doing here, anyway ?

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## lvwilly

techdiver said:


> I wish we could bring that dirt bag back from the dead so that we could smoke him again.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, just don't like the precedent it set is all.


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## TruthSeeker

*Top al Qaeda leader dead in airstrike, Yemen says*

By the CNN Wire Staff, April 24, 2012 -- Updated 2221 GMT (0621 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Yemen says Mohammed Saeed al-Umda is killed in U.S. drone airstrike
Al-Umda is called one of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula's top commanders
Officials say at least 52 suspected al Qaeda militants have been killed this week

(CNN) -- The fourth-most wanted al Qaeda leader in Yemen was killed on Tuesday in an airstrike in the northeastern province of Mareb, the Yemeni government announced.

*Two senior security officials told CNN that U.S. drones conducted the airstrike.*

The Interior Ministry said Mohammed Saeed al-Umda was killed when his vehicle was hit in the remote desert region of Al-Samdah. Two of his aides also died in the strike.

"This is a success for the war on terror. Al-Umda has been on the run for years and his absence will help in limiting the terror network's operation in Yemen," a senior Defense Ministry official told CNN on condition of anonymity.

According to the Interior Ministry, al-Umda was one of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula's top commanders and was tasked with providing logistical and financial support to the network.

In 2006, he escaped from the Sana'a political security prison and was sentenced for 10 years in absentia by a Yemen criminal court.

The news of al-Umda's death comes as the government announced a full-scale operation against al Qaeda militants in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Mareb and al-Baitha.

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that at least 52 suspected al Qaeda militants were killed over the past two days in battles and airstrikes on numerous targets in the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa.

The ministry said the fighting is now in favor of the army amid ongoing successful attacks on militants' hideouts and strongholds.
A senior Defense Ministry official told CNN that 14 troops were killed in Abyan since Monday and that military reinforcements will continue arriving. He said that at least 900 additional troops would be sent to Abyan and Shabwa within the next days. He added that strategic military and geographical locations were regained during the nonstop battles.

FBI Director Robert Mueller arrived in Sana'a on Tuesday and met with President Abdurabu Hadi, mainly discussing the counterterrorism program in Yemen.

A presidential aide told CNN that Hadi promised complete cooperation with the United States.
"Talks today are a continuation of a series of talks President Hadi had with a number of visiting U.S. officials since February and mainly focused on the U.S. counterterrorism program and supporting Yemen during the transition period," the aide said.
The aide said the United States was worried about al Qaeda's expansion in the country and its mission to destabilize the region. "It's not a secret that al Qaeda is stronger today than a year ago. Yemen needs support if it seeks to defeat this enemy," the aide concluded.

Top al Qaeda leader dead in airstrike, Yemen says - CNN.com

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## warpig

U-571 said:


> but we are talking abt fighting for america, why dont we start with fighting for sinking US economy and its unemployed citizens, and one and a half trillion foreign US dept and all depts you owe to your jewish banks with interest??
> 
> we are not discussing non issues here, our economy is also a blessing of your war inside pakistan, thanks to your drones and mass killings, our tourism has declined, our image is tarnished, investers have fled
> 
> pakistan is the best place to invest in the whole world because we have the deep sea port just at the mouth of starit of hormuz, we connect to central asia, china, middle east at the same place and have got plenty of rich minerals and cheap labour, but thanks to USA and its terrorism, neither we are safe in balochistan and nor in KP province.. what can you expect when your country kills 40,000 of our people..
> 
> while america maintains 102,000 soldiers in afghanistan. we just have to invest for 150,000 pakistan soldiers just along the afghan border, to feed them well so that they can fight an american war, to keep them alert just to protect that no talibans from afghanistan come and kill our citizens
> 
> the result we achieve by doing all this is more american and its allies pressure, you cry on the aid while the aid is nothing compared to the damages you make, you make india strong through nuclear deals, in this way we now have to spend more to keep the nuclear balance,, this requires more money, more expenditure on defense, you are giving india all it wants so that pakistan can be insecure, ask your govt, for what it has done, then we also have to deal with your whinning cry because of israeli diplomatic pressure, hey, pakistan is arming with more nuke arsenal, 'its a danger for israel and india and we love india'
> 
> before WOT we were cruising a peace, stability and development of 8% a year



the us economy is the last thing we might have to talk about 
and just so you know their sinking economy is like living in paradise 
to our economy so lets not confuse every thing !!!


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP confirms commander linked to Osama bin Laden killed in drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, April 30, 2012

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirmed that a senior leader was killed in a recent US drone airstrike in Yemen. The commander had trained in Afghanistan and served as a member of Osama bin Laden's bodyguard.

AQAP confirmed that the commander, Mohammed Saeed al Umda (also known as Ghareeb al Taizi), was killed in the April 22 drone strike on a convoy in the Al Samadah area, near the border of Marib and Al Jawf provinces. The terror group announced his death in a martyrdom statement that was released yesterday on jihadist websites. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"'Ghareeb al Taizi,' may Allah have mercy on him, ... was martyred ... with two mujahideen as a result of an American bombing in Samdah district of Marib," the statement said, according to SITE.

AQAP stated that Umda had served in Afghanistan, where "he was close to Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, and was in his special guard." Bin Laden's special bodyguard was also known as the Black Guard.

The terror group also said al Umda was on a US wanted list and had been detained by the Saudi government and then transferred to Yemen, where in 2006 he broke out of prison in Sana'a along with 23 AQAP leaders and fighters.

A Yemeni official told The Long War Journal on April 24 that al Umda was killed in an airstrike two days prior. The Yemeni official said that al Umda provided "logistical and financial support" and "commanded a number of AQAP military operations in Yemen." Al Umda has also been featured prominently in AQAP's propaganda, such as an interview posted on the Ansar al Mujahideen web forum in 2010.

Read more: AQAP confirms commander linked to Osama bin Laden killed in drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## USAHawk785

Excellent News !


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## Nishan_101

Yemen should buy ANZA MK-IIIs from Pakistan along with AAA batteries too, inorder to counter future attacks that might be on military or on civilians.


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## Edevelop

USAHawk785 said:


> Keep it up ! Wipe em all out.



Looks like you're not a good Doctor then. How many Non-American patients have you killed so far?


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## Audio

Bomb the mother fuckers!
And if the regime goes with it, bomb it as well! Nuff' said!


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## IbnAlwaled

Nishan_101 said:


> Yemen should buy ANZA MK-IIIs from Pakistan along with AAA batteries too, inorder to counter future attacks that might be on military or on civilians.


Yemen is happy about the drone attacks just like Pakistan.
Al-Qaida are a bunch of wannabe Jihadist who are only tough against civilians, when have we seen Al-Qaida fight Israel or US army or any army for that matter? All the cowards can do is hide bombs in markets full of innocent people and blow it up. Thank God America is wiping them out.


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## darkinsky

IbnAlwaled said:


> Yemen is happy about the drone attacks just like Pakistan.
> Al-Qaida are a bunch of wannabe Jihadist who are only tough against civilians, when have we seen Al-Qaida fight Israel or US army? Cowards. Thank God America is wiping them out.



and from where the hell alquaida comes from, who's the source??, any guess?


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## IbnAlwaled

darkinsky said:


> and from where the hell alquaida comes from, who's the source??, any guess?


Last time I heard it was Pakistan, unless you have any updates on that.


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## darkinsky

IbnAlwaled said:


> Last time I heard it was Pakistan, unless you have any updates on that.



if thats the case america would have attacked pakistan not afghanistan, but even afghanistan is not the source


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## Defecator

darkinsky said:


> if thats the case america would have attacked pakistan not afghanistan, but even afghanistan is not the source



America is not perfect but we believe they make the best choices and Indians will always support America no matter what.

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## Audio

Defecator said:


> America is not perfect but we believe they make the best choices and Indians will always support America no matter what.




lol...


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## darkinsky

Defecator said:


> America is not perfect but we believe they make the best choices and Indians will always support America no matter what.



an indian will say this because american and indian relations are improving, what you believe is not being neutral but being sympathetic because of relations

i would rather like to see a view of an iranian


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## TruthSeeker

*Airstrike kills senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen*

By BY AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press &#8211; 21 minutes ago 

SANAA, Yemen (AP) &#8212; An airstrike Sunday killed a top al-Qaida leader on the FBI's most wanted list for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole warship, Yemeni officials said. The airstrike resembled earlier U.S. drone attacks, but the U.S. did not immediately confirm it.

Fahd al-Quso was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle, along with another al-Qaida operative in the southern Shabwa province, Yemeni military officials said. They were speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with military regulations.
The airstrike came as the U.S. and Yemen cooperate in a battle against al-Qaida in southern Yemen.

Al-Quso, 37, was on the FBI's most wanted list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was indicted in the U.S. for his role in the 2000 bombing in the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed and 39 injured.
He served more than five years in a Yemeni prison for his role in the attack and was released in 2007. He briefly escaped prison in 2003 but later turned himself in to serve the rest of his sentence.

A telephone text message claiming to be from al-Qaida media arm confirmed al-Quso was killed in the strike.

Al-Quso was also one of the most senior al-Qaida leaders publicly linked to the 2009 Christmas airliner attack. He has allegedly met with the suspected bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Yemen before he left on his way to execute his failed bombing over Detroit.

In December 2010, al-Quso was designated a global terrorist by the State Department, an indication that his role in al-Qaida's Yemen branch had grown more prominent.

Local Yemeni official Abu Bakr bin Farid and the Yemeni Embassy in Washington confirmed al-Quso was killed in Rafd, a remote mountain valley in Shabwa. It is the area where many of al-Qaida leaders are believed to have taken cover, including the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen last year.

Yemeni government officials reported that Al-Quso and al-Awlaki were killed in an airstrike in 2009 in Rafd, but they both resurfaced alive.

Al-Quso was known for his ability to move in disguise. He was from the same tribe as al-Awlaki, and local tribesmen said he was a close aide. He studied ultraconservative Salafi Islam as a teenager in northern Yemen, then returned home to learn welding.
The White House and the State Department had no immediate comment.

Yemen's government has been waging an offensive on al-Qaida militants, who have taken advantage of the country's political turmoil over the last year to expand their hold in the south.

The new Yemeni president has promised improved cooperation with the U.S. to combat the militants. On Saturday, he said the fight against al-Qaida is in its early stages.

Al-Quso's association with al-Qaida dated back more than a decade, when he met with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. Bin Laden allegedly told him to "eliminate the infidels from the Arabian Peninsula."

From there he rose through the ranks. He was assigned in Aden to videotape the 1998 suicide bombing of the USS Cole, but he fell asleep.

Despite the lapse, the local leader, Nasser al-Wahishi, declared him the regional leader in Aden. He was also believed to have played a prominent role in al-Qaida's attack and capture last year of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province. Government troops are trying to drive al-Qaida out of Zinjibar.

The Associated Press: Airstrike kills senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen

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## VCheng

Excellent news!

Chalk another one down for the drones.

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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 10, 2012

The US killed eight al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an airstrike today in the terrorist-controlled city of Jaar in Abyan province.

The early morning strike by the remotely piloted Predators or Reapers targeted a convoy that is thought to have been transporting senior leaders of Ansar al Sharia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's political front, according to CNN. No senior leaders have been identified as being killed.

In addition to the strike that hit a convoy, The Associated Press reported that an airstrike leveled a home that housed five "militants." Among those reported killed was "a senior member of the terror network in charge of armament." It is unclear if the strike was carried out by US or Yemeni aircraft. Yemeni warplanes are said to have been conducting strikes in Jaar as well.

Jaar is a known stronghold for AQAP, and US drones struck in Jaar twice in March. One strike targeted a a weapons storage depot on Jabal Khanfar, a hill that overlooks the city. AQAP was moving weapons, including tanks, that had been seized during raids on Yemeni Army bases outside of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan.

Today's strike takes place just four days after the US killed senior AQAP leader Fahd al Quso in a drone attack in Shabwa province. Quso, who has been described as AQAP's external operations chief, was involved in numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 US sailors. The US obtained the information leading to Quso from a Saudi operative who had penetrated AQAP.

Read more: US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters - The Long War Journal

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## TruthSeeker

*U.S. launches airstrike in Yemen as new details surface about bomb plot*

By Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung, Thursday, May 10, 8:06 PM

The United States launched airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday that killed as many as seven militants, the second American missile attack in the country since the CIA and other spy agencies disrupted an al-Qaeda airline bomb plot, U.S. officials said.

The strike came as new details surfaced about the foiling of the plot, including the disclosure that the operative who posed as a willing suicide bomber and later turned the device over to authorities was a British citizen, according to Western officials.

The foiled underwear bomb plot in Yemen serves as a stark reminder of al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP's, primary mission - bring down an American plane, reports John Miller.

The CIA declined to comment on any aspect of the mission or the airstrike. But officials confirmed details about the operative&#8217;s background, including that he held a British passport, and did not dispute accounts in the British press about his recruitment by MI5, that country&#8217;s equivalent of the FBI.

Officials said the operative had been in place for months and had gained the confidence of senior al-Qaeda figures, who sought to take advantage of his Western passport and other travel documents.

A Western intelligence official described the operation as a &#8220;joint venture&#8221; that relied on cooperation among multiple agencies to put the operative in position to penetrate al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.

After taking possession of the bomb, the operative turned it over to Saudi handlers in Yemen before leaving the country. The device is in FBI custody in the United States and is being examined to determine whether it would have been detected by airport security systems.

The operative was among a network of informants in Yemen working on behalf of the CIA as well as the Saudi and Yemeni spy services. The informants have provided intelligence used in targeting for an escalating campaign of U.S. drone strikes.

The latest strikes, aimed at al-Qaeda operatives in southern Yemen, bring the total this year to at least 15, about as many as in the previous 10 years combined. U.S. officials said it was too early to determine whether any high-value targets had been killed in the Thursday attack and declined to say whether it had been carried out by the CIA or the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, which also patrols Yemen with armed drones and conventional aircraft.

A strike Sunday killed a senior operations leader in AQAP, Fahd al-Quso, who is thought to have been involved in the airline plot and was wanted for his role in the 2000 bombing of a U.S. warship on Yemen&#8217;s shore, U.S. officials said.

The bombmaker suspected of designing the latest device, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, has eluded U.S. and Yemeni authorities.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Thursday that disclosures about the bomb plot have hurt intelligence efforts and that he supports the decision by Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. to open an investigation into the leaks.

To counter the al-Qaeda threat, &#8220;you have to protect&#8221; the agents who are used to penetrate such organizations, Panetta said, &#8220;and you have to protect the confidence&#8221; that foreign intelligence services have in their collaborations with the CIA.

Panetta also defended the administration&#8217;s assertions that it has weakened AQAP, despite the al-Qaeda affiliate&#8217;s expansion in southern Yemen over the past year and its ability to continue to plot attacks against the United States.

&#8220;We have been very successful at going after the leadership,&#8221; Panetta said. &#8220;But, you know, they are a threat.&#8221;

U.S. launches airstrike in Yemen as new details surface about bomb plot - The Washington Post

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## Edevelop

Is than an agreement with the Yemen government or is it a violation of International law.


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strikes kill 11 AQAP fighters*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 12, 2012

US drones killed 11 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, including an Egyptian, in a pair of strikes in central Yemen today. The US has now launched three airstrikes in Yemen in three days.

An Egyptian fighter, who was not named, was among six AQAP members killed in the first strike in an area of Marib province close to Shabwa, according to The Associated Press. Five more AQAP fighters were killed when the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a car traveling in Marib. No senior leaders have been reported killed in the strikes.

Egyptian fighters have been targeted in previous US strikes in Yemen. Last month, Abu Musab al Masri, an Egyptian jihadist who fought alongside AQAP, was killed along with several other foreign fighters in a US drone strike in the Karma area near Azzan in Shabwa province. An Egyptian known as Abu Ayman was targeted in a strike in January 2010, but survived. And Ibrahim al Bana, AQAP's media emir, was targeted in the October 2011 strike that killed Abdulrahman al Awlaki; Bana survived the strike.

The US has conducted three drone strikes in Marib province so far this year. The province has been a battleground between AQAP and government forces. Marib is one of several provinces with a strong AQAP presence and is known to host terror training camps.

US strikes in Yemen

Today's strikes in Marib are the third and fourth that are confirmed to have been carried out by the US in Yemen this month. Other recent airstrikes are believed to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US. The last strike took place on May 10; eight fighters were killed in the AQAP-controlled city of Jaar.

Read more: US drone strikes kill 11 AQAP fighters - The Long War Journal



cb4 said:


> Is than an agreement with the Yemen government or is it a violation of International law.



The drone strikes in Yemen are completely in keeping with international law allowing a nation to exercise self-defense. Just as drone strikes in Pakistan are legal acts of self-defense.


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## sur

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith_of_Najd

Prophet Muhammad asks Allah to bless the areas of *Makkah/Madinah* and *Sham* and *Yemen*. When his companions said "Our Najd (*Iraq*) as well," he replied: "There will appear earthquakes and afflictions, and from there will come out the side of the head (e.g. horns) of Satan.
=
=
The order from distant to near is:-
Najd(iraq)>>>Yemen>>>Shaam>>>Makkah/Madinah
=
=
*Yemen* is being attacked by left-eyed great deceiver aka Dajjal; *Shaam*(Syria) will be next; but since these areas were prayed for, they won't take a hit like *iraq* ...


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## TruthSeeker

sur said:


> Prophet Muhammad asks Allah to bless the areas of *Makkah/Madinah*



Yes, and you can thank French special forces for saving the Great Mosques of Makkah from desecration and destruction in 1979 (Grand Mosque Seizure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Allah works in mysterious ways. In this case Allah has blessed the kuffar drones that strike the takfiris in Yemen. The USA drones are Allah's will.

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## TruthSeeker

*Pursuit of Terrorists Is Irreversible,&#8217; Yemen&#8217;s President Says*

By SCOTT SHANE, May 13, 2012

President Obama&#8217;s counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, met with Yemen&#8217;s president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, on Sunday, a day after a stepped-up campaign of American airstrikes reportedly killed 11 militants allied with Al Qaeda&#8217;s Yemeni affiliate.

The meeting in Sana, the Yemeni capital, reflected the close cooperation of the two countries in attacking the affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose latest plot to bomb a United States-bound airliner was foiled last month when the would-be suicide bomber turned out to be an agent working with Saudi and Western intelligence services. *Mr. Hadi has supported the campaign against the terrorist group even more strongly than his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, American officials say.*

&#8220;The move toward the pursuit of terrorists is irreversible,&#8221; Mr. Hadi said on Sunday, praising the cooperation between Yemen&#8217;s military and its tribes, according to a statement from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington. Mr. Brennan &#8220;reiterated President Obama&#8217;s strong commitment to the steps taken by President Hadi to stabilize Yemen,&#8221; the statement said.

The thwarted plot, whose leak was the subject of a political flap on Sunday, has intensified the hunt for a Qaeda bomb maker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who is believed to have designed a new nonmetallic bomb as well as the explosives used in previous plots against aircraft in 2009 and 2010.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; that the infiltration of Al Qaeda and disruption of the plot was &#8220;an impressive win for the C.I.A.&#8221; But she said there were now &#8220;prodigious efforts&#8221; to find Mr. Asiri.

&#8220;I am hopeful that we will be able to, candidly, kill this bomb maker and kill some of his other associates because there is a dangerous process in play at the present time,&#8221; Ms. Feinstein said.

The Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Department have worked closely on airstrikes against the Qaeda affiliate, mostly using drones. Officials on Sunday declined to say which agency was behind the two strikes on Saturday, which made four strikes in a week.

On the CBS News program &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, accused the White House of engaging in &#8220;premature chest-thumping&#8221; about the foiled plot in the face of C.I.A. efforts to keep it secret. He also said the administration had failed to brief the Congressional intelligence committees on the unfolding plot, as required by law.

But a spokesman for the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said Mr. Rogers&#8217;s assertion was &#8220;absolutely false.&#8221;

&#8220;The White House and C.I.A. worked together to try and prevent publication of this damaging leak,&#8221; Mr. Vietor said of the initial report on the plot by The Associated Press. &#8220;We then worked together to delay the story so that we could triage and protect operational equities.&#8221;

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/w...ts-is-irreversible-yemens-president-says.html


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strikes kill 7 AQAP fighters, 8 civilians in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 15, 2012

The US launched two drone strikes today in a city in southern Yemen that is currently under the control of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Seven AQAP fighters and eight civilians are reported to have been killed in the airstrikes.

The first strike targeted "a militant hideout" in Jaar, a city in Abyan province that is currently under al Qaeda control, CNN reported. The eight civilians were killed after they attempted to recover the bodies of AQAP fighters, apparently after the unmanned US Predators or Reapers launched a second salvo of missiles into the hideout.

The second strike targeted a home in Jaar that was thought to be used as an AQAP safe house. Three AQAP leaders are said to have been killed in that strike.

Jaar, which is just north of Zinjibar, is a known stronghold for AQAP, and US drones have now hit targets in the city five times this year. The US attacked AQAP in Jaar just five days ago, and killed 8 AQAP fighters. The drones also struck twice in March. One strike targeted a a weapons storage depot on Jabal Khanfar, a hill that overlooks the city. AQAP was moving weapons, including tanks, that had been seized during raids on Yemeni Army bases outside of Zinjibar.

Read more: US drone strikes kill 7 AQAP fighters, 8 civilians in Yemen - The Long War Journal

*US airstrike kills 2 AQAP operatives in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 17, 2012

The US killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an airstrike in eastern Yemen today. The strike is the sixth by the US in the past week, and takes place as the Yemeni government is intensifying military operations against AQAP strongholds in the south.

Today's strike took place in the town of Shibam in eastern Hadramout province. Unmanned US drones, the Reapers or Predators, fired missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the eastern city, according to AFP. Two AQAP operatives were killed in the airstrike. The identities of those killed have not been disclosed.

Shibam is known to have an AQAP presence. On April 1, AQAP fighters overran an outpost in Shibam and brutally executed seven soldiers. The US has not conducted an airstrike in Hadramout province since the campaign began in late 2009.

The Yemeni military has launched an offensive against AQAP in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, as well as in Jaar and Lawdar, two other cities in the southern province. More than 20,000 Yemeni troops, backed by US CIA and military advisers and air and naval forces, are involved in the offensive.

AQAP is in control of Zinjibar and Jaar, and had a strong presence outside of Lawdar, where fighting has been heavy. Yemeni troops are also said to have entered Zinjibar. More than 150 Yemenis are reported to have been killed over the past several days.

Read more: US airstrike kills 2 AQAP operatives in eastern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 2 AQAP fighters in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 19, 2012

The US killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in a drone airstrike in central Yemen yesterday as fighting for control of major towns and cities in the south heats up.

The unmanned Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers struck a convoy in the central province of Baydah yesterday afternoon, killing a Yemeni and a Somali fighter, according to AFP. The identities of those killed have not been disclosed, and AQAP has not released a statement confirming or denying the deaths.

Somali fighters from Shabaab are reported to have entered Yemen to support al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, as AQAP attempts to consolidate control in the south and fight the military. On April 11, Yemeni officials claimed that Somalis, Saudis, and Pakistanis were among those killed during fighting in Lawdar in Abyan province. And on April 21, the military claimed that 10 Saudi and three Somali fighters were killed while fighting in Abyan.

Baydah province is known to have an AQAP presence. The terror group seized control of Rada'a in Baydah in January but later withdrew after negotiating a peace agreement with the local government.

The Yemeni government has launched a major offensive designed to clear AQAP from the larger cities and towns in southern Yemen. Hundreds of civilians, AQAP fighters, and Yemeni troops have been killed during fighting over the past week. Yemeni troops have clashed with AQAP fighters outside of Lawdar, and claimed to have ejected the terror group from the city. Yemeni troops are also engaged in fighting with AQAP fighters outside of Jaar, and officials have said they expect to defeat AQAP there within days. Heavy fighting has been reported in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has been under AQAP control for one year.


Read more: US drone strike kills 2 AQAP fighters in central Yemen - The Long War Journal

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## Banu Umayyah

TruthSeeker said:


> Yes, and you can thank French special forces for saving the Great Mosques of Makkah from desecration and destruction in 1979 (Grand Mosque Seizure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Allah works in mysterious ways. In this case Allah has blessed the kuffar drones that strike the takfiris in Yemen. The USA drones are Allah's will.


The French role was only advisory, they did't participate in any combat.


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones target local AQAP leaders in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 28, 2012

The US targeted two local leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the central province of Baydah today. The AQAP leaders survived the strike, but five fighters are reported to have been killed.

Today's drone strike, the ninth by the US in Yemen this month, targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, according to The Yemen Post.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers targeted Kaid and Nabil as they were traveling in a convoy in Rada'a, a city in Baydah that was under AQAP control earlier this year. The drones killed five AQAP fighters and wounded four more, according to The Associated Press. US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Kaid was the target of the strike.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after his brother, Tariq, was killed in February by another brother, Hazam, a senior tribal leader in the town who was concerned that Tariq's affiliation with AQAP would incur the wrath of the Yemeni government. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki.

Read more: US drones target local AQAP leaders in Yemen - The Long War Journal

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## TruthSeeker

Zarqawi's nephew killed in Yemen drone strike

By BILL ROGGIO, June 23, 2012

A Jordanian member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was the nephew of former al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed in a drone strike earlier this year, according to a martyrdom statement that was released by a jihadist.

A jihadist close to Muhammad Fazi al Harasheh, who was also known as Abu Hammam al Zarqawi, released the martyrdom statement on the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al Mujahideen forum on June 20. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The date and location of Abu Hammam's death were not disclosed. He was initially reported to have been killed in a landmine attack, in a statement released on jihadist forums on May 8, according to SITE. The US is known to have conducted 13 drone strikes in southern Yemen between the beginning of April and the date his death was announced. Three of those strikes took place in Abyan province, where Abu Hammam was known to operate.

According to the jihadist, "spies" aided in the killing of Abu Hammam in a drone strike as he traveled in a vehicle.

"They were unable to kill him in the battles, so they sent spies to guide them to him," the statement said. "A drone came to bomb the car in which he and one of the brother were riding, and so his pure soul went to its maker."

Abu Hammam traveled to Yemen sometime last year and "entered the ranks of the mujahideen at the end of 2011." He "pledged allegiance to Sheikh Nasir al Wuhayshi," the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. Wuhayshi served as Osama bin Laden's aide de camp prior to traveling to Yemen to wage jihad.

The jihadist who wrote the martyrdom statement described Abu Hammam as "one of the hardest mujahideen on the enemies of Allah," who earned the nickname the "Lion of Zinjibar." According to other fighters, Abu Hammam "killed more than 26 apostates from the vagrants of America, and ... he slaughtered number 26 like a sheep."

Read more: Zarqawi's nephew killed in Yemen drone strike - The Long War Journal

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## bouncing betty

cb4 said:


> Is than an agreement with the Yemen government or is it a violation of International law.




An agreement with Yemen, just like the one the U.S. has with Pakistan. Except Pakistan can't admit it because they have too many 'people' that will....... well, we know what they'll do if they find out.

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## TruthSeeker

*4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, July 3, 2012

The US killed four people, including two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, in a drone airstrike in southern Yemen.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a vehicle in Shabwa province earlier today, The Associated Press. Two of the men were identified as Hussein Rubai and Fahad al Harithi, and "were known for ties to al Qaeda and provided shelter for militants."

No senior AQAP leaders or operatives are reported to have been killed in the strike.

Today's drone strike took place after the Yemeni military claimed it broke up three AQAP cells planning to conduct attacks against foreign embassies and government personnel. The military said that "four Egyptians, two Jordanians, a Somali, a Tunisian, and a man from Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus" were among those arrested, according to Reuters.

Foreign fighters have been killed in Yemen in the past, This year, two Jordanians, including Abu Hammam, the nephew of slain al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, were killed in drone strikes.

US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the first recorded in Yemen this month. The last confirmed strike took place on June 25, in Aden province. An AQAP commander and two fighters were reported to have been killed. Other recent airstrikes are believed to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US.

The US is known to have carried out 25 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen so far this year; one in January, six in March, six more in April, nine in May, two in June, and at least one this month.


Read more: 4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in southern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## swathi

US should increase drone attacks on yemen as threat from aqap grows.


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 5 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 4, 2012

The US killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a drone airstrike in eastern Yemen. The strike is the first in Yemen in more than a month.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a vehicle in Al Qotn in Hadramout province earlier today, AFP reported. Five AQAP fighters were killed in the strike.

No senior AQAP leaders or operatives are reported to have been killed in the strike. The identities of those killed have not been disclosed.

As the US drones were hunting AQAP fighters in Hadramout, the terror group killed 20 people and wounded 20 more in a suicide attack at a funeral in the city of Jaar in Abyan province. The funeral was being held for a member of a pro-government militia that supported military operations against AQAP in Jaar, according to the BBC.

US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the first recorded in Yemen in more than a month. The last confirmed strike took place on July 3, in Shabwa province. Two known AQAP operatives were killed in the July 3 strike.

Other recent airstrikes are believed to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US.

The US is known to have carried out 26 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen so far this year; one in January, six in March, six more in April, nine in May, two in June, one in July, and at least one this month.

Read more: US drone strike kills 5 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## Solomon2

It's fascinating to contrast the Pakistani and Yemeni approaches to the drone strikes. Pakistan claims they are a violation of sovereignty whereas Yemen claims their own air force is doing the deed. Between the two types of denial Yemen's appears to be less principled but more constructive.


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## TruthSeeker

*US kills AQAP bombmaker, 9 fighters in pair of strikes in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 7, 2012

The US launched two drone strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen today, killing a senior bombmaker and nine other fighters. The US has now conducted three strikes in Yemen in the past four days. Meanwhile, jihadists named one of the AQAP fighters killed in Saturday's drone strike.

In the first strike, the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at two vehicles traveling in the town of Rawdah in Baydah province, The Associated Press reported. Yemeni officials said that Abdullah Awad al Masri, a wanted bombmaker who is also known as Abou Osama al Maribi, was killed in the strike. It is unclear if he is a Yemeni, however, as his surname, al Masri, indicates he is an Egyptian.

Two Egyptians, a Tunisian, a Saudi, and a Bahraini were among the seven AQAP fighters killed in the strike. Their identities have not been disclosed.

In the second strike, a drone killed three AQAP fighters as they were traveling in a vehicle in the Zoukaika region of Hadramout province. The identities of those killed have not been disclosed.

Today's strikes follow another on Aug. 4, which also took place in Hadramout. Five AQAP fighters were killed in the strike. Jihadists said that Abu al Bara'a al Saya'ari was one of those killed, according to a statement that was released on Internet forums and was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. Al Saya'ari's role in AQAP was not disclosed; the jihadists said he was the driver of the car.

Read more: US kills AQAP bombmaker, 9 fighters in pair of strikes in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*U.S. drone strike kills 8 suspected militants: Yemeni officials*

ADEN/SANAA | Fri Aug 31, 2012 3:13pm EDT

(Reuters) - Eight Islamist militants were killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday in a remote part of Hadramout, a Yemeni official said, the third such strike in the eastern Yemeni province this week.

Yemen's defense ministry said on its website that eight al Qaeda members were killed in an air strike on their vehicle in the isolated, desert district of Hawra. The local official, who declined to be named, said it was a drone strike.

*The men were heavily armed, carrying machine-guns and explosives, the ministry said. The local official said the men were thought to have been on the way to carry out an attack.*

It was not possible to verify the details independently given the remoteness of the region.

Washington, which fears the spread of militants in Yemen, has stepped up attacks by unmanned aircraft this year.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen and has mounted operations in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well as attempting to launch attacks against the United States.

At least six suspected Islamist militants have been killed in air strikes apparently carried out by drones since Tuesday.

In a statement issued on Friday, a group of clerics and preachers from southern Yemen said one of their members had been killed in one of the recent U.S. drone attacks.

"Among the four killed in an attack launched by a U.S. aircraft in the al-Qatn district of Hadramout on Wednesday was one of our members, Salem bin Ahmed bin Ali Jaber, who had no link to al Qaeda," the Union of Clerics and Preachers of Yemen's Southern Provinces said in a statement.

"He was known for his moderate ... approach that was far from being excessively strict."

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state has been in turmoil since an uprising last year which eventually forced veteran ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in February.

Islamist militants gained ground during the unrest, taking control of several towns in south Yemen.

The army, with backing from the United States, has forced them out of some areas this year but they have hit back with a series of suicide bombings targeting government institutions.

On Thursday, a Yemeni intelligence officer was killed on the street in the capital Sanaa by a gunman shooting from a motorbike. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf and Mohamed Ghobari; Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

U.S. drone strike kills 8 suspected militants: Yemeni officials | Reuters

*US drone strike kills AQAP operative involved in Limburg tanker attack*

By BILL ROGGIO, September 2, 2012

The US killed a wanted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative who was involved in the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker was killed in Friday's drone strike. Also, the US launched another strike today in Yemen, killing five suspected AQAP fighters.

Yemen's Defense Ministry said that Khaled Batis was one of eight terrorists killed on Aug. 31 when unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at a car as it traveled in the Hawra district in Hadramout province.

Batis is considered to be the mastermind of the 2002 attack on the French-flagged Limburg, an oil tanker that was transporting crude to Malaysia. The Limburg was struck by a small boat laden with explosive rammed into the ship. A Bulgarian crew member was killed and 12 others were wounded in the attack. He was in Yemeni custody but escaped from prison last year, according to Reuters.

Batis is the second AQAP operative involved int he Limburg attack to have been killed in a drone strike this year. On Jan. 31, US drones killed Abdul Mun'im Salim al Fatahani near the city of Lawdar in Abyan province. Fatahani was involved in the Limburg attack as well as the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000. AQAP said that Fatahani had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US drone strike in Rada'a

As Batis' death was announced, the US also launched another strike against AQAP in Yemen. Today's strike killed five suspected AQAP fighters as they traveled in the town of Rada'a, a city in Baydah province that was under AQAP control earlier this year, Reuters reported.

The exact target of today's strike has not been disclosed; no senior AQAP leaders have been reported killed in the attack.

The US targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, in a strike in Rada'a on May 28.

Read more: US drone strike kills AQAP operative involved in Limburg tanker attack - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*6 'Islamist militants' killed in US drone strike in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, September 5, 2012

US drones struck yet again in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout today, killing six "Islamist militants" in a strike on a compound. Today's strike is the fourth in Yemen in eight days.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired eight missiles at a compound in the Wadi al Ain area of Hadramout province, killing six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives, Yemeni officials told Reuters.

The exact target of today's strike has not been disclosed; no senior AQAP leaders have been reported killed in the attack. The large number of missiles fired at the target indicates the US was hunting a senior AQAP leader or an important operative.

The strike is the second this month. On Sept. 2, US drones killed 13 civilians in a failed strike that targeted a vehicle transporting AQAP fighters in Rada'a in Baydah province.

US drones have zeroed in on Hadramout province over the past month. Of the seven strikes that have been recorded since the beginning of August, five have taken place in the eastern province. On Aug. 31, US drones killed eight AQAP fighters in a strike on a vehicle in the province. On Aug. 29, two AQAP fighters, including a Saudi "militant," were reported killed in Hadramout. On Aug. 7, the US carried out two strikes in Yemen. Yemeni officials said that Abdullah Awad al Masri, a wanted bombmaker who is also known as Abou Osama al Maribi, was killed in one of the strikes in Hadramout that also killed two Egyptians, a Tunisian, a Saudi, and a Bahraini. And on Aug. 4, the US conducted another airstrike in Hadramout province.

Read more: 6 'Islamist militants' killed in US drone strike in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

AQAP deputy emir reported killed in recent drone strike

By BILL ROGGIO, September 10, 2012


Said al Shihri, from the second edition of Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's propaganda magazine, which was obtained by The Long War Journal.

The Yemeni military claimed that Said al Shihri, a former Guantanamo detainee and the current deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a recent military operation in Hadramout province. The report has not been confirmed.

Al Shihri is said to have been killed in a military operation in the Wadi al Ain area of Hadramout province, according to SABA (Yemen News Agency), which referenced a report at the website of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense.

"A security official quoted by the ministry's website as saying that the military forces carried out an operation in Wadi Hadramout ended up with killing Saudi national "Saeed Ali al-Shihri" along with six other militants who were with him," SABA reported.

The Yemeni military took credit for the Sept. 2 airstrike in Hadramout that targeted a vehicle and is reported to have killed six AQAP fighters. However, the strike was carried out by the US's fleet of unmanned Predators and Reapers based in the area, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal. US drones have zeroed in on Hadramout province over the past month. Of the seven recorded strikes since the beginning of August, five have taken place in the eastern province.

US officials have not commented on reports of al Shihri's death. AQAP has not released a martyrdom statement announcing his death. In the past, AQAP has announced the deaths of senior leaders quickly.

Al Shihri has been reported killed several times in the past. Most recently, In February 2011, he was rumored to have been killed while working with explosives. Al Shihri was also said to have been killed in a US cruise missile attack in December 2009. And in January 2010, Yemeni officials claimed that al Shihri was captured.

Shihri is a Saudi citizen who was detained by the US and transferred to Guantanamo Bay for his connections to al Qaeda. He had served as an "al Qaeda travel facilitator" in Mashad, Iran, where he would help al Qaeda operatives enter Afghanistan. He was also connected to the Saudi 'charity' al Wafa, which has been designated under Executive Order 13224 as a terrorist organization and is briefly mentioned in the 9/11 Commission's report as an al Qaeda front.

In November 2007, Shihri was released from Guantanamo and placed into Saudi custody, where he then entered a government-run rehabilitation program for former jihadists. Less than a year later, Shihri played a direct role in al Qaeda's attack on the American embassy in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, in September 2008. That attack killed 10 civilians, along with six terrorists.

In February 2009, when Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda in Yemen merged to form Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Shihri was named as deputy to AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi.

Read more: AQAP deputy emir reported killed in recent drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 4 al Qaeda 'militants' in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 4, 2012

US drones conducted their first strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen in nearly a month, killing four "militants."

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the Maqbala area in Shabwa province, killing four "heavily armed" al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives, a Yemeni official and residents told Reuters. Two more "militants" were wounded and another escaped.

The exact target of today's strike has not been disclosed; no senior AQAP leaders have been reported killed in the attack.

The strike is the first recorded in Yemen since Sept. 5, when the unmanned warplanes launched eight missiles at a compound in the Wadi al Ain area of Hadramout province, killing six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. Said al Shihri, a former Guantanamo detainee and the current deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was rumored to have been in the strike in Wadi al Ain, but the report was never confirmed. An unnamed Yemeni official said DNA tests concluded that al Shihri was not among those killed in the attack.

Today's strike takes place just six days after Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi praised the US drone strikes in Yemen during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

"They pinpoint the target and have zero margin of error, if you know what target you're aiming at," Hadi said, according to The New York Times.

Hadi confirmed what US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal several times in the past: that the US conducted the nighttime strikes "because the Yemeni Air Force cannot carry out missions at night."

Read more: US drone strike kills 4 al Qaeda 'militants' in southern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## Banu Umayyah

TruthSeeker said:


> *
> Today's strike takes place just six days after Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi praised the US drone strikes in Yemen during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
> 
> "They pinpoint the target and have zero margin of error, if you know what target you're aiming at," Hadi said, according to The New York Times.*


*
What a pathetic president.
Zero margin of error?!
Tell that to the 100's of innocent Pakistani children who died from US drones. To the US, any adult male with an Ak and a beard is a terrorist, and Yemen is the 2nd country in the world by number of weapons per capita. They are fucked.*


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## Banu Umayyah

swathi said:


> US should increase drone attacks on yemen as threat from aqap grows.



Genius!
Because done bombing innocent families does not help Al-Qaeda recruite volenters.


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP leader, 8 fighters killed in US drone strike in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 18, 2012

US drones conducted their first strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen in two weeks, killing nine members, including one described by the Yemeni military as a "dangerous leader."

The unmanned Predators or Reapers attacked a farmhouse at dawn today outside of Jaar in Abyan province, killing nine AQAP operatives, local residents told Reuters. The drones struck the farmhouse three times, according to news service.

The Yemeni military claimed that a joint raid "by the champions of the 119th Infantry Brigade and the popular committees," or local anti-AQAP militias, conducted the attack, according to a report by SABA, or the Yemen News Agency. The Yemeni military often takes credit for operations carried out by US drones.

The Yemeni military described Nadir Haider Nasser al Shaddadi, the AQAP commander killed in the raid, as "the terrorist and dangerous leader of the al Qaeda."

Today's strike is the second carried out by US drones this month in Yemen. On Oct. 4, the drones fired several missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the Maqbala area in Shabwa province, killing four "heavily armed" al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. No senior terrorist leaders were reported killed in the attack.

In the previous strike, on Sept. 5, US drones launched eight missiles at a compound in the Wadi al Ain area of Hadramout province, killing six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. Said al Shihri, a former Guantanamo detainee and the current deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, was rumored to have been in the strike in Wadi al Ain, but the report was never confirmed. An unnamed Yemeni official said DNA tests concluded that al Shihri was not among those killed in the attack.

Read more: AQAP leader, 8 fighters killed in US drone strike in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## jnd3x0

TruthSeeker said:


> *AQAP leader, 8 fighters killed in US drone strike in Yemen*
> 
> By BILL ROGGIO, October 18, 2012
> 
> US drones conducted their first strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen in two weeks, killing nine members, including one described by the Yemeni military as a "dangerous leader."
> 
> The unmanned Predators or Reapers attacked a farmhouse at dawn today outside of Jaar in Abyan province, killing nine AQAP operatives, local residents told Reuters. The drones struck the farmhouse three times, according to news service.
> 
> The Yemeni military claimed that a joint raid "by the champions of the 119th Infantry Brigade and the popular committees," or local anti-AQAP militias, conducted the attack, according to a report by SABA, or the Yemen News Agency. The Yemeni military often takes credit for operations carried out by US drones.
> 
> The Yemeni military described Nadir Haider Nasser al Shaddadi, the AQAP commander killed in the raid, as "the terrorist and dangerous leader of the al Qaeda."
> 
> Today's strike is the second carried out by US drones this month in Yemen. On Oct. 4, the drones fired several missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the Maqbala area in Shabwa province, killing four "heavily armed" al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. No senior terrorist leaders were reported killed in the attack.
> 
> In the previous strike, on Sept. 5, US drones launched eight missiles at a compound in the Wadi al Ain area of Hadramout province, killing six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. Said al Shihri, a former Guantanamo detainee and the current deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, was rumored to have been in the strike in Wadi al Ain, but the report was never confirmed. An unnamed Yemeni official said DNA tests concluded that al Shihri was not among those killed in the attack.
> 
> Read more: AQAP leader, 8 fighters killed in US drone strike in Yemen - The Long War Journal



peaceful days of yemen are numbered as real terrorists have start operating from sky ... the day Americans will stop this nonsense the day people will finally negotiate and live in peace. where ever america goes terrorism prevails


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP's top sharia official killed in recent drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO,October 20, 2012

The US killed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's senior sharia, or Islamic law, official in a drone strike in early October, according to a Yemeni journalist who is closely connected to the terror group. Sheikh Abu Zubeir 'Adil al'Abab, the sharia official, was described as AQAP's fourth-most important leader.

Al'Abab was the "fourth man in the hierarchy of Qaedat al-Jihad Organization in the Arabian Peninsula," according to a report by Abdul Razzaq al Jamal, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. A close follower of AQAP, al Jamal has traveled and embedded with the terror group, and has interviewed many AQAP senior and midlevel officials. He has also written articles that sympathized with the terror group's attempts to control the region. AQAP has not released an official martyrdom statement announcing al'Abab's death.

Al'Abab was killed in the Oct. 4 drone strike that targeted vehicles as they traveled in the Maqbala area in Shabwa province. Four AQAP fighters were reportedly killed in the strike.

According to al Jamal, al'Abab was the most important AQAP leader after Nasir al Wuhayshi, the group's emir; Said al Shihri, the deputy emir; and Qassim al Rimi, AQAP's military commander. Al'Abab is also the fourth-most important AQAP leader killed in a US drone strike after Abu Ali al Harithi, Anwar al-Awlaki, and Fahd al Quso, according to al Jamal.

As AQAP's sharia official, al'Abab provided religious justification for AQAP's operations, including suicide attacks. Additionally, al'Abab helped with AQAP's propaganda efforts. Al'Abab "contributed articles to AQAP's Arabic magazine, 'Echo of the Epics' (Sada al- Malahem), and answered questions about targeting non-Muslim civilians and Yemeni soldiers in the fourth issue of AQAP's English magazine, 'Inspire,'" according to the SITE Intelligence Group

Read more: AQAP's top sharia official killed in recent drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 21, 2012

US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike in southern Yemen, in the second such attack in the country in four days.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the Wadi Abida area in Marib province tonight, officials said according to The Yemen Post.

An AQAP operative known as Sanad Oraidan al Okailim, whose brother was killed in Abyan province earlier this year, was among the four people killed in the nighttime attack, according to the Yemeni news service. A second vehicle arrived at the scene following the strike and its occupants removed the bodies of those killed.

The strike tonight was certainly carried out by the US-operated Predators or Reapers. Earlier this month, Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi admitted that the nighttime strikes were carried out by the US "because the Yemeni Air Force cannot carry out missions at night."

Today's drone strike is the second in Yemen in four days, and the third this month. In the last strike, on Oct. 18, the US killed Nadir Haider Nasser al Shaddadi and eight other fighters in an attack on a compound outside of Jaar in Abyan province.

On Oct. 4, the drones fired several missiles at a vehicle as it was traveling in the Maqbala area in Shabwa province, killing four "heavily armed" al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. A Yemeni journalist who is closely tied to AQAP later reported that Sheikh Abu Zubeir 'Adil al'Abab, AQAP's senior sharia official and the fourth-most important leader in the group, was killed in that strike.

Read more: US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## Nishan_101

TruthSeeker said:


> *Yemen: '50 Al-Qaeda militants' killed in airstrike*
> 
> last update: July 14, 14:01
> 
> Sanaa, 15 July (AKI) - An early morning airstrike in southern Yemen on Thursday killed dozens of alleged Al-Qaeda militants, according to Yemeni newspaper Akhbar al-Youm.
> 
> The dawn raid in Abyan province was conducted by an American unmanned aircraft which fired missiles at a police station occupied by insurgents, according to the report, citing an unnamed source.
> 
> Fighting between government forces and A-Qaeda linked militants has uprooted 70,000 people who have taken shelter in schools and abandoned houses, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch.
> 
> Yemen is battling Al-Qaeda, Islamist and separatist insurgencies while anti-government protests have applied further pressure to the embattled government.
> 
> Meanwhile, president Ali Abdullah Saleh is in Saudi Arabia recovering from burns he suffered last month in a bomb attack on the presidential palace in Sanaa.
> 
> Yemen: '50 Al-Qaeda militants' killed in airstrike - Adnkronos Security



Although these Strikes are targeted towards Militants but the Yemen Forces all of them should look towards buying KRL's ANZA MK-IIIs in good numbers in order to protect there Military bases, Economic Installations and their borders with any Intrution by UAVs or any Aircraft.


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 28, 2012

US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first strike recorded against the terror group in northern Yemen. A local al Qaeda commander was targeted, and two Saudis are thought to be among those killed.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at two compounds in the Abu Jabara area of Saada province today, Yemeni security officials and tribesmen told Reuters, which reported that four "militants" were killed. A local AQAP commander known as Hadi al Tais was said to be the target of the airstrike; it is unclear if he was killed.

According to The Associated Press, three AQAP fighters, including two Saudis, were killed in the attack that targeted a compound of "a wanted al Qaeda militant from another Yemeni province."

The strike is the first recorded against AQAP in northern Yemen since the US began targeting the terror group in late 2009. All of the other strikes have targeted AQAP's network and fighters in the southern provinces.

Saada is a hotspot where local Salafist groups, backed by AQAP and the government, battle the Houthis, a Shia separatist group that is supported by Iran. The Houthis, who are based in Al Jawf and Saada, have been fighting the Sunni government for years. In 2010, the Houthis also clashed with Saudi security forces along the northern border. Hundreds of Houthi fighters and Saudi troops were killed in the fighting.

In early December 2011, AQAP officially declared war on the Houthis. Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula's Mufti, issued the announcement and called the Shia a "virus" on the Sunni people. Rubaish was held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility before he was released in 2006. AQAP has conducted several suicide attacks against the Houthis, including an attack in December 2011 that killed a military commander, and another that killed 17 people, including a top Houthi leader and his son.

The Yemeni government has used al Qaeda and other local terror groups, as well as pro-government tribes, to battle the Houthis. In January 2008, a spokesman for an al Qaeda cell in Yemen said the government had recruited some of its members to fight in the Saada War. In exchange, the security forces agreed to "ease the persecution of (al Qaeda) members."

In the past, the government encouraged its young men to fight in Iraq and then return to fight against the Houthis. In early 2007, a Yemeni newspaper counted more than 1,800 Yemenis who traveled to Iraq for jihad; their families said the young men were trained by top-level Yemeni military commanders.

The cooperative agreement between the Yemeni government and al Qaeda collapsed after al Qaeda's branches in Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged in 2009 into Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP has declared war on the Yemeni state and has conducted numerous attacks against security forces and the oil infrastructure.

Read more: US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*Al Qaeda leader Rashid Rauf killed in drone strike, family says*

By BILL ROGGIO, October 29, 2012

A senior al Qaeda operative who had been plotting terror attacks in Europe and had escaped Pakistani custody in December 2007 was killed in a drone strike, according to family members who are planning to sue the British government.

Rauf's family is planning on suing the British government for providing information to the US that aided in targeting him, according to the Birmingham Mail.

"The Americans could not have found and killed him without help from British intelligence officers who shared information," a friend of the Rauf family who has maintained he was innocent told the Birmingham Mail. "The family want answers. They want to see the evidence that Rashid was a dangerous terrorist."

Rauf's status has been uncertain for years after he was first reported to have been killed in a November 2008 Predator strike in North Waziristan that was also thought to have killed Abu Zubair al Masri and two other al Qaeda operatives. Shortly after the November strike, Rauf's family and his lawyer claimed his was still alive. Taliban fighters close to Rauf also said he was alive.

US and British intelligence initially thought Rauf was killed in the November 2008 drone strike, but the assessment changed after an al Qaeda operative detained during a raid in Belgium claimed that Rauf had trained him and dispatched him to Brussels to conduct a suicide attack during a meeting of European leaders, The Times Online reported in April 2009. The operative also said Rauf had plotted attacks in major cities in Belgium, France, Holland, and England. Rauf has also been implicated as being the director of the failed plot to conduct attacks in England on Easter Sunday in 2009.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal said they no longer believe Rauf was killed in the November 2008 strike, but said he may have been killed in one of the more than 270 strikes that have taken place since then. Officials would not comment on the exact strike that killed Rauf.

"It is often difficult to determine when an al Qaeda leader or operative was killed or if they survived targeting," one official involved in the air campaign against al Qaeda and other terror groups operating in Pakistan told The Long War Journal.

"We don't have a body, we can't go there to investigate," the official continued. "The fact is, that despite our persistent targeting [with drones], the FATA [Pakistan's tribal areas] remains a no-go area. This is Taliban territory."

Read more: Al Qaeda leader Rashid Rauf killed in drone strike, family says - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strikes kill Jordanian, Yemeni AQAP operatives*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 24, 2012

The US targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first reported drone strikes in Yemen in seven weeks.

In the first stirke, a Yemeni and a Jordanian AQAP operative are said to have been killed after remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired several missiles at their vehicle as they traveled in the Manaseeh area of Baydah province in central Yemen, local intelligence officials and tribesmen told AFP. Three more "militants" are said to have been wounded.

The Yemeni AQAP operative was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, a "member from Marib province who was wanted after he escaped from prison two years ago," according to AFP. The identity of the Jordanian was not disclosed.

In a second strike in the eastern province of Hadramout, US drones are said to have killed four AQAP fighters as they were driving motorcycles in the town of Shehr, AFP reported. The identity of those killed have not been disclose; no senior AQAP leaders are reported to have been killed.

Jordanians are known to fight in Yemen as members of AQAP. Two Jordanian operatives, including a cousin of slain al Qaeda in Iraq emir Abu Musab al Zarqawi, are reported to have been killed in drone strikes in Yemen this year [see LWJ reports, Jordanian cleric extols jihad at funeral of AQAP fighter, and Zarqawi's nephew killed in Yemen drone strike].

US drones have targeted AQAP fighters in Manaseeh in the recent past. On Sept. 2, the US accidentally killed 13 civilians while targeting AQAP fighters in the area.

AQAP has increased its presence in Baydah province this year, and the US has pursued the terror group with drone strikes. On May 28, the US targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after his brother, Tariq, was killed in February by another brother, Hazam, a senior tribal leader in the town who was concerned that Tariq's affiliation with AQAP would incur the wrath of the Yemeni government. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki.

Read more: US drone strikes kill Jordanian, Yemeni AQAP operatives - The Long War Journal

*Jihadist identifies 2 AQAP fighters killed in recent drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 27, 2012

A Yemeni jihadist has identified two of the five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula members who were killed in a US drone strike in eastern Yemen on Dec. 24. The two AQAP fighters escaped from a Yemeni prison 18 months ago.

The jihadist announced "the martyrdom of the two mujahideen brothers Abdullah Bawazir and Nabil al Kaldi" in a statement that was released today on the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Mujahideen forum, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the statement. Images of the two fighters, including photographs taken after their deaths, accompanied the announcement.

"They were martyred after an American drone strike with three rockets at a group of mujahideen near al-Watan stadium in the city of al Shehr, al Mukallah, today," the jihadist continued, according to SITE. The identities of the other three fighters are not yet known.

According to the jihadist, Bawazir and al Kaldi appeared in an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula video titled "Story of Salvation," which documented the June 2011 escape of the two fighters and other AQAP operatives from the Mukallah prison. In that incident, 46 inmates, including many al Qaeda operatives, escaped from the Mukallah prison after tunneling under it. The prisoners were said to have been aided by a "renegade military commander."

On Dec. 24, the US launched two drone strikes in Yemen; the first strike killed a Yemeni and a Jordanian AQAP operative in Rada'a in the central province of Baydah. The second strike, which killed Bawazir and al Kaldi, took place in Shehr near Mukallah in Hadramout province. The drones targeted a group of AQAP fighters as they drove on motorcycles in Shehr.

The roles of Bawazir and al Kaldi in AQAP are unknown, but both men were most likely low-level fighters in the organization. So far, US drone strikes in Yemen have targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10]. Obama administration officials have claimed that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland.

The US has launched 40 drone strikes against AQAP in Yemen this year; the attacks have killed five senior AQAP operatives and leaders, along with numerous low-level fighters and local commanders.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/jihadist_identifies.php#ixzz2GJSahVta


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## TruthSeeker

*Yemen: Drone Strike Kills 2*

By REUTERS, December 28, 2012

Two men suspected of being insurgents linked to Al Qaeda were killed in a drone strike in Yemen&#8217;s eastern region of Hadramawt on Friday, a local security official said. The two men were riding a motorcycle west of the coastal town of Al-Sheher when the pilotless aircraft fired at them, the official said. He gave no further details of the identity of those killed. The United States has been increasing its use of drones against Al Qaeda in Yemen. The Islamist group last year seized large areas of territory in the south before being driven out by a military offensive in June.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/middleeast/drone-strike-kills-2-in-yemen.html


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## Greenn

Americans bombing Al Qaeda in yemen, but at the same time are supporting them in syria!
They created and supported Al Qaeda and taliban in Afghanestan during 80's, But nowadays are bombing them in pakistan and Afghanestan. although many innocent people also die during their strikes.


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## Alienoz_TR

Greenn said:


> Americans bombing Al Qaeda in yemen, but at the same time are supporting them in syria!
> They created and supported Al Qaeda and taliban in Afghanestan during 80's, But nowadays are bombing them in pakistan and Afghanestan. although many innocent people also die during their strikes.



Dont worry, USA cannot carry this burden for next 10 years as it did in the previous 10 years. Collapse is inevitable.

Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 3 AQAP fighters in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 29, 2012

US drones struck for the fourth time in Yemen in less than a week, killing three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an attack in central Yemen today.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a group of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were traveling in Land Cruisers in the village of Manaseeh outside the town of Rada'a in central Baydah province, according to the Associated Press. Three AQAP fighters are thought to have been killed. One was identified as 
Today's strike is the second in Manaseeh this week. On Dec. 24, US drones killed as Saleh Mohammed al-Ameri, who the BCC described as a senior AQAP leader.

Jordanian and a Yemeni AQAP fighter in a strike in the village. The Yemeni was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli; he also escaped from a prison two years ago. The US also launched two other strikes in the eastern province of Hadramout this week. Prior to the strikes that have taken place this past week, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7.

US drones have targeted AQAP fighters in Manaseeh in the recent past. On Sept. 2, the US accidentally killed 13 civilians while targeting AQAP fighters in the area.

AQAP has increased its presence in Baydah province this year, and the US has pursued the terror group with drone strikes. On May 28, the US targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after his brother, Tariq, was killed in February by another brother, Hazam, a senior tribal leader in the town who was concerned that Tariq's affiliation with AQAP would incur the wrath of the Yemeni government. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki.

Read more: US drones kill 3 AQAP fighters in central Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 2 Saudi AQAP fighters in central Yemen*

By Bill Roggio,January 20, 2013

The US killed eight people, including two Saudi al Qaeda fighters, in a drone strike yesterday in Marib province in central Yemen. The strike is the first recorded in Yemen in 16 days.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched two missiles at a car as it traveled in the Abieda Valley in Marib province, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.

Two of those killed "were known al Qaeda militants of Saudi nationality," AP reported. One of the Saudis is thought to be Ismail bin Jamil. Tribesmen blocked the road from Marib to the capital of Sana'a to protest the strikes, according to Reuters.

Today's strike is the second this year, and the first in Yemen since Jan. 3, when US drones killed local AQAP commander Mukbel Abbad and two fighters in an attack as their vehicle traveled in the town of Rada'a in the central Yemen province of Baydah.

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Read more: US drone strike kills 2 Saudi AQAP fighters in central Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US kills 3 more AQAP fighters in drone strike in Marib*

By BILL ROGGIO, January 21, 2013

US drones struck again in Marib province in central Yemen, killing three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. The strike is the second in the central province in three days.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched two missiles today at a car as it traveled outside the city of Marib in the province of the same name, according to The Associated Press. Three AQAP members, identified as Ali Saleh Toaiman, Qassim Nasser Toaiman, and Ahmed al Ziadi, a local commander in the province, were killed in the attack, and two more were wounded.

The three AQAP members had previously been captured after the Yemeni military took control of Abyan province from AQAP, which seized the province in May 2011, but were released as part of an amnesty in April 2012, according to AP.

Today's strike is the third this year, and the second in Marib province in three days. On Jan. 19, US drones fired at a vehicle in the Abieda Valley in Marib, killing eight people, including two Saudi AQAP fighters.

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Read more: US kills 3 more AQAP fighters in drone strike in Marib - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in northern Yemen*

By Bill Roggio, January 22, 2013

US drones targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for the third time in four days, with a strike aimed at members of the terrorist group in the northern province of Al Jawf.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the desert in Al Jawf province, according to Reuters. Four AQAP members are reported to have been killed in the attack.
*
The drones "targeted a gathering of al Qaeda members who had made the area a center for training," a Yemeni official told the news agency. The province borders Saudi Arabia, and is considered a base for fighters crossing the border between the two countries.*

US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf two other times in the past. Both strikes targeted top AQAP leaders. In September 2011, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

*Today's strike in Al Jawf is the third in Yemen in four days, and the fourth strike this month. The US launched two strikes in Marib province on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21; two Saudis are reported to have been killed in the Jan. 19 attack.*

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Said al Shihri, the deputy emir of AQAP, is thought to have recently died from wounds suffered in a drone strike in December 2012; however the report has not yet been confirmed.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

Read more: 4 AQAP fighters killed in drone strike in northern Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones strike again in Yemen, killing 6 AQAP fighters near capital*

By Bill Roggio, January 23, 2013

US drones yet again targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Yemen, this time outside the capital of Sana'a. The strike today is the fourth by the US in Yemen in five days. The US has expanded the drone campaign throughout all of Yemen over the past year.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers attacked a vehicle as it traveled in a rural area outside of Sana'a, according to Reuters. Six AQAP members are said to have been killed in the attack. No senior AQAP fighters are reported to have been killed in today's strike.

US drones have struck AQAP in Sana'a one other time in the past. On Nov. 7, 2012, the remotely piloted attack aircraft killed Adnan al Qadhi, an al Qaeda commander who was involved in the attack on the US Embassy in Sana'a in 2008, along with two fighters. Al Qadhi commanded local AQAP forces in and around the capital at the time of his death.

Today's strike in Sana'a is the fourth in Yemen in five days, and the fifth strike this month. The US launched two strikes in Marib province on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21; two Saudis are reported to have been killed in the Jan. 19 attack. In another strike, on Jan. 22, the US killed four AQAP fighters in a strike on a vehicle in Al Jawf province in northern Yemen.

The US appears to be launching several strikes over a short period of time, followed by weeks in which no strikes occur. Between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013, the US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen. But prior to the Dec. 24 strike, the last recorded strike by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

Additionally, over the past eight months, the US has begun to target AQAP outside of the traditional strongholds of Abyan and Shabwah provinces in the south. Of the 25 strikes against AQAP since the beginning of June 2012 that have been recorded by The Long War Journal, only four have hit AQAP in Abyan and Shabwah. The other 21 strikes have targeted AQAP operatives in the provinces of Aden, Al Baydah, Al Jawf, Hadramout, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a. Of the 18 strikes that were conducted between January 2012 and the end of May, 10 occurred in Abyan and Shabwah.

In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Said al Shihri, the deputy emir of AQAP, is thought to have recently died from wounds suffered in a drone strike in December 2012, but the report has not yet been confirmed.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed, however, that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

Read more: US drones strike again in Yemen, killing 6 AQAP fighters near capital - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri is dead: Yemeni government*

By Bill Roggio, January 24, 2013

The Yemeni government claimed today that the deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Said al Shihri has died "after succumbing to wounds received in a counter terrorism operation" late last year. A prominent jihadist and the Middle Eastern press have also recently claimed that al Shihri is dead.

"The Supreme National Security Committee of the Republic of Yemen announced today the death of Sa'id al Shihri, known also by the pseudonym 'Abu Sufyan Alazdi', the cofounder and second-in-command (Deputy Emir) of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), after succumbing to wounds received in a counter terrorism operation in the governorate of Saadah on the 28th of November, 2012," read a statement that was translated by the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, DC.

The Yemeni government indicated that al Shihri was killed in a joint operation with the US, which is known to operate drones that target AQAP leaders and fighters in Yemen.

"The security committee highlighted Yemen's cooperation with the international community in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism," the statement continued. "Al Shihri who has survived multiple operations in the past, was buried in undisclosed location inside Yemen by al Qaeda linked militants."

The statement by the Yemeni government was issued just one day after rumors of Shihri's death appeared in Middle Eastern newspapers. Additionally, a jihadist linked to AQAP announced that the deputy AQAP emir is indeed dead. 

According to Al Arabiya, al Shihri's family "said he was severely injured after a joint Yemeni-U.S. operation targeting al-Qaeda members in Yemen in the second week of December, 2012."

"After falling into a coma, Shihri was later declared dead and was buried in Yemen," the newspaper reported.

And two days ago, "prominent jihadist Abdullah bin Muhammad" released a statement announcing al Shihri's death, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

"I send to the Ummah [Muslim community] news of the martyrdom of Sheikh Said al Shahri after a long journey in fighting the Zio-Crusader campaign," bin Muhammad said. The jihadist has access to AQAP propaganda, SITE noted, as he "released missing audio from the AQAP video 'Jihad of the Ummah' that announced a bounty on American Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald M. Feierstein."

The date of the operation in which al Shihri was wounded is unclear. The Yemeni government claimed he was wounded in an operation on Nov. 28, while family members said he was wounded in mid-December. No drone strikes were reported in Yemen between Nov. 8, 2012 and Dec. 23, 2012.

However the US is known to have conducted a strike in Saada on Oct. 28, 2012. In that strike, US drones targeted two compounds, killing four AQAP fighters, including two Saudis [see LWJ report, US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen].

AQAP has not released an official statement to announce the death of al Shihri.

Al Shihri has been reported killed or captured several times in the past. Most recently, On Sept. 10, 2012, the Yemeni military claimed that he was killed in a military operation. Al Shihri released a statement on Oct. 20, 2012 in which he denied the reports of his death. In February 2011, he was rumored to have been killed while working with explosives. In January 2010, Yemeni officials claimed that al Shihri was captured. And in December 2009, al Shihri was said to have been killed by a US cruise missile attack.

Read more: AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri is dead: Yemeni government - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 2 AQAP operatives*

By BILL ROGGIO, April 21, 2013

The US launched a drone strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula today in central Yemen, killing two AQAP operatives. The strike is the third recorded in the country in the past six days.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at a compound in the Wadi Abida area of Marib province, Yemeni officials told AFP.

Tribal officials then said that two Yemeni troops and another AQAP fighter were killed during clashes that followed. "A cache of weapons was found at the site" of the strike, according to Reuters.

No senior AQAP operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed in today's strike.

The strike in Marib is the third recorded in Yemen over the past six days. On April 17, US drones struck twice in the Oussab al Ali area, a mountainous region located between the provinces of Damar, Ibb, and Hodeida. An AQAP leader known as Hamed Radman and four fighters are reported to have been killed on April 17.

Over the past 10 months, the US has begun to target AQAP outside of the traditional strongholds of Abyan and Shabwah provinces in the south. Of the 28 strikes against AQAP since the beginning of June 2012 that have been recorded by The Long War Journal, only four have hit AQAP in Abyan and Shabwah. The other 24 strikes have targeted AQAP operatives in the provinces of Aden, Al Baydah, Al Jawf, Hadramout, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a (it is unclear if the April 17 strikes took place in Damar, Ibb, or Hodeida). Of the 18 strikes that were conducted between January 2012 and the end of May, 10 occurred in Abyan and Shabwah.

The US has launched eight drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. In January, the Yemeni government claimed that Said al Shihri, the deputy emir of AQAP, died following an attack last fall; AQAP has not confirmed his death, however, and recently released a statement that hinted he may be alive.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed, however, that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

Read more: US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 2 AQAP operatives - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen*
By BILL ROGGIO, April 17, 2013

The US launched a pair of drone strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula today in a remote area in central Yemen, according to reports. The strikes are the first recorded in the country since the end of January.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers attacked two separate targets in the Oussab al Ali area, which was described by The Associated Press as a mountainous region "located in the middle of three provinces of central Damar, southern Ibb and eastern Hodeida."

The first strike killed four AQAP fighters as they were driving a vehicle in the area, Yemeni intelligence officials told AP.

The second strike killed Hamed Radman, who was described as an "influential al Qaeda member" who "played a role in recruitment." A Yemeni witness in the area said that US drones were deployed over the village where Radman was killed for three days before striking.

Read more: US drones kill 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*Suspected US Drone in Yemen Kills 4 Militants
*

By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen May 18, 2013 (AP)

A suspected U.S. drone strike killed four al-Qaida militants Saturday in a southern Yemeni province once overrun by the group, according to security officials.

The officials said the attack took place around dawn in an area called Deyqa in Abyan province. Officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Yemeni forces battled al-Qaida in Abyan province last year, routing militants from major cities that al-Qaida had briefly ruled during the country's 2011 political turmoil. The militants fled to surrounding mountainous areas after Yemen's military, assisted by the United States, forced them to retreat.

According to several research groups and The Associated Press's own reporting, there has been a dramatic rise in such drone strikes in Yemen since the country's new U.S.-backed president assumed power early last year.

Washington says al-Qaida in Yemen is among the group's most dangerous and active branches worldwide.

The U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein, met Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Saturday. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama extended an executive decision warning supporters of the country's former longtime ruler &#8212; ousted after more than three decades in power by protests &#8212; to stop hampering the political process or face having their assets frozen.

Hadi also told Yemeni state TV Saturday that tampering of the country's military jets over the past year is the work of either al-Qaida or those wanting to sabotage the army, a reference to supporters of Saleh still in government and security posts.

He vowed an investigation into the incidents.

Seven military aircraft have been sabotaged while still on the ground, including at least two that were torched.

Additionally, just five days ago a military plane on a training exercise exploded in midair over the country's capital, killing the pilot. It was the third such jet crash since Hadi took power.

Suspected US Drone in Yemen Kills 4 Militants - ABC News


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 4 'militants' in first strike in Yemen in a month*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 18, 2013

US drones launched the first strike in Yemen in a month, killing four "militants" in an attack on a vehicle carrying explosives in a southern town plagued by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at a truck "carrying grenades and explosive belts" in the Al Mahfad area in the southern province of Abyan on Friday night, AFP reported. Four suspected members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the airstrike.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders have regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012 [see Threat Matrix report, AQAP regroups in Abyan province]. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in 2011.

Since losing control of large areas of Abyan and Shabwa, AQAP has spread out into the provinces of Aden, Al Baydah, Al Jawf, Damar, Hadramout, Hodeida, Ibb, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a. Of the 29 drones strikes recorded by The Long War Journal over the past 11 months, 25 have taken place in the provinces of Aden, Al Baydah, Al Jawf, Damar, Hadramout, Hodeida, Ibb, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a.

The US has launched nine drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. The last strike took place on April 21 in the Wadi Abida area of Marib province; two AQAP operatives were reported killed.

In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Read more: US drones kill 4 'militants' in first strike in Yemen in a month - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 2 AQAP fighters*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 20, 2013

The US launched its second drone strike in Yemen in four days, killing two members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in an area in the central part of the country.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at the two fighters "as they left a farm on a motorbike" in the Khobza area of Baydah province today, AFP reported.

Two members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the airstrike. The Yemeni military identified the fighters as Abd Rabbo Mokbal Mohammed Jarallah al Zouba and Abbad Mossad Abbad Khobzi.

AQAP has increased its presence in Baydah province over the past several years, and the US has pursued the terror group with drone strikes. On May 28, 2012, the US targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after the death of his brother Tariq, who was the top AQAP leader in Baydah before he was killed in early 2012 in a feud with another brother, Hazam, a senior tribal leader in the town. Hazam was concerned that Tariq's affiliation with AQAP would incur the wrath of the Yemeni government. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in the fall of 2011.

In January, US drones killed Mukbel Abbad, a senior AQAP leader in the province. Abbad was a brother-in-law of Tariq al Dhahab.

Read more: US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 2 AQAP fighters - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 8 AQAP fighters in Yemen strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, June 1, 2013

US drones launched the first strike in Yemen in 12 days, killing eight "militants" in an attack on an convoy in a southern town controlled by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched three missiles at a convoy of pickup trucks carrying AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in the southern province of Abyan today, Xinhua reported.

The target of today's strike was not disclosed. Eight members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the airstrike, and three more were wounded. No senior AQAP operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders have regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012 [see Threat Matrix report, AQAP regroups in Abyan province]. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in the spring of 2011.

The US has launched one other drone strike in Al Mahfad. That attack took place on May 18. Four AQAP fighters were killed when the drones launched missiles against a vehicle carrying grenades and suicide belts.

Read more: US drones kill 8 AQAP fighters in Yemen strike - The Long War Journal


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## FaujHistorian

TruthSeeker said:


> *US drones kill 8 AQAP fighters in Yemen strike*
> 
> By BILL ROGGIO, June 1, 2013
> 
> US drones launched the first strike in Yemen in 12 days, killing eight "militants" in an attack on an convoy in a southern town controlled by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
> 
> The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched three missiles at a convoy of pickup trucks carrying AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in the southern province of Abyan today, Xinhua reported.
> 
> The target of today's strike was not disclosed. Eight members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the airstrike, and three more were wounded. No senior AQAP operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed.
> 
> Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders have regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012 [see Threat Matrix report, AQAP regroups in Abyan province]. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in the spring of 2011.
> 
> The US has launched one other drone strike in Al Mahfad. That attack took place on May 18. Four AQAP fighters were killed when the drones launched missiles against a vehicle carrying grenades and suicide belts.
> 
> Read more: US drones kill 8 AQAP fighters in Yemen strike - The Long War Journal




We should send militant supporters of PTI and TTP goons to Yemen. 

so they all can defend their Islamist brothers.

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## USAHawk785

FaujHistorian said:


> We should send militant supporters of PTI and TTP goons to Yemen.
> 
> so they all can defend their Islamist brothers.



Surely you jest, don't encourage others to become charred grilled....

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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill AQAP commander, 5 fighters in northern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, June 9, 2013

US drones killed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander and five fighters in a strike in northern Yemen in the border with Saudi Arabia.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at two vehicles traveling in the Al Mahashma area in Al Jawf province today, The Associated Press reported.

An AQAP commander known as Saleh Hassan Jredan or Hassan al Saleh Huraydan, his brother, and four other fighters are reported to have been killed in the airstrike.

US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf three other times in the past. Two of the three strikes targeted top AQAP leaders. In September 2011, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, and Samir Khan, an American who ran Inspire Magazine, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

The last US drone attack in Al Jawf took place on Jan. 22; the US killed 4 AQAP fighters in a strike on a vehicle as it was leaving a training camp in the desert in the province.

Read more: US drones kill AQAP commander, 5 fighters in northern Yemen - The Long War Journal

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## Yzd Khalifa

It isn't clear yet wether Abu Huriyrah was killed or not. 

Curious  I wonder what will they do without him


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## flamer84

Transformers said:


> i cant understand policy of americans....in libya they support Al qaeda and here they are bombing them.



It is quite simple my dear fellow---you create the problem-you than swoop in posing as a night in shiny armour to solve the problem-you leave behind weaken or disintegrating states which are easier to control---it helps the weapon industry by waging constant war.....in the process some of your citizens will get killed by terrorists snaping back at you,but hey!! who cares for the average Joe? it's not like they can touch the likes of Bush,Blair or Obummer.





TruthSeeker said:


> You are misinformed or merely trolling. The US does not support al Qaeda anywhere on the planet.



They supported it in Afghanistan in the 80's,in Lybia and now in Syria....you now very well that the lines between freedom fighters and terrorists are pretty blurred in the examples i gave.


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP confirms deputy emir killed in US drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, July 17, 2013

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has confirmed that Said al Shihri, its deputy leader, has been killed in a US drone strike. Although the Yemeni government had reported six months ago that al Shihri, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a military operation last year, the al Qaeda commander's status has been unconfirmed until now.

AQAP announced the death of al Shihri in a video that was released on July 16, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained the video. "The video's production date is given as Ramadan 1434, meaning that it was made within the past week," SITE stated.

The eulogy for al Shihri was given by Ibrahim al Rubaish, a leading ideologue and theologian for AQAP who also is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee. Al Rubaish confirmed that al Shihri was indeed killed in a US drone strike.

Al Shihri, whose real name is Abu Sufyan al Azdi, was first reported killed in mid-January by a Yemeni journalist and by jihadists closely tied to AQAP [see Threat Matrix report, AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri likely killed in US drone strike].

Just days after reports of al Shihri's death emerged, the Yemeni government issued an official statement confirming his death [see LWJ report, AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri is dead: Yemeni government]. The US, however, refused to go on the record and officially confirm the death of al Shihri. In April, AQAP released a statement from al Shihri, and referred to him as if he was alive.

Al Shihri is thought to have been wounded in a drone strike in late 2012, and then later died of his wounds. The date of the operation in which al Shihri was wounded is unclear. The Yemeni government claimed he was wounded in an operation on Nov. 28, but family members said he was wounded in mid-December. No drone strikes were reported in Yemen between Nov. 8, 2012 and Dec. 23, 2012.

The US is known to have conducted a strike in Saada on Oct. 28, 2012, however. In that strike, US drones targeted two compounds, killing four AQAP fighters, including two Saudis [see LWJ report, US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen].

Al Shihri's death highlights the difficulty in confirming reports of the demise of al Qaeda leaders and operatives in drone strikes where no government presence exists. Al Shihri has been falsely reported killed or captured several times in the past. Most recently, on Sept. 10, 2012, the Yemeni military claimed that he was killed in a military operation. Al Shihri released a statement on Oct. 20, 2012 in which he denied the reports of his death. In February 2011, he was rumored to have been killed while working with explosives. In January 2010, Yemeni officials claimed that al Shihri was captured. And in December 2009, al Shihri was said to have been killed by a US cruise missile attack.

Intelligence services often are unable to reach the scene of a strike and recover a body. Without having a body on which forensic tests can be conducted, intelligence services are reliant on tips from family members and jihadists, media reports, and other methods to deduce if an al Qaeda member has been killed or dodged a strike. In the absence of a body, confirmation via a martyrdom statement is one of the best ways to determine if an al Qaeda operative is dead.

Background on Said al Shihri

Shihri is a Saudi citizen who was detained by the US in Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 for his connections to al Qaeda. He had served as an "al Qaeda travel facilitator" in Mashad, Iran, where he would help al Qaeda operatives enter Afghanistan. He was also connected to the Saudi 'charity' al Wafa, which has been designated under Executive Order 13224 as a terrorist organization and is briefly mentioned in the 9/11 Commission's report as an al Qaeda front.

In November 2007, Shihri was released from Guantanamo and placed into Saudi custody, where he then entered a government-run rehabilitation program for former jihadists. Less than a year later, in September 2008, Shihri played a direct role in al Qaeda's attack on the American embassy in Sana'a, Yemen's capital. That attack killed 10 civilians, along with six terrorists.

In February 2009, when al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and al Qaeda in Yemen merged to form al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Shihri was named as deputy to AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi.

Read more: AQAP confirms deputy emir killed in US drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US launches 1st drone strike in Yemen in 7 weeks*

By BILL ROGGIO, July 28, 2013

US drones launched the first strike in Yemen in 49 days, killing six "militants" in an attack today on a convoy in a southern town controlled by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at a vehicle carrying AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in the southern province of Abyan, The Associated Press reported.

The exact target of today's strike was not disclosed. Six members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the airstrike; three of them were identified but their names have not been disclosed, according to AP. No senior AQAP operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders have regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in the spring of 2011.

The US has launched two other drone strikes in Al Mahfad. The last attack took place on June 1. Eight militants were reported to have been killed in the strike. The previous attack took place on May 18. Four AQAP fighters were killed when the drones launched missiles against a vehicle carrying grenades and suicide belts.

Read more: US launches 1st drone strike in Yemen in 7 weeks - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 3 AQAP operatives*

By BILL ROGGIO, July 30, 2013

The US launched its second drone strike in four days in Yemen, killing three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives today as they traveled in the south of the country.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at a vehicle carrying AQAP operatives as it drove through the town of Saeed in the southern province of Shabwa, The Associated Press reported.

Yemeni tribesmen told the news agency that "a known Saudi member" of AQAP was among the three fighters killed. The names of those said to have been killed in the strike have not been disclosed.

"The car in which the three were traveling -- two Yemenis and a Saudi -- was blown to pieces and all of them were killed outright," a Yemeni source told AFP, which also reported that there were two cars traveling together; one the vehicles escaped the strike.

Today's strike is the second in Yemen in four days. The previous strike, on July 27, which is said to have killed six AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in Abyan province, broke a seven-week pause in drone activity in Yemen.

Read more: US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 3 AQAP operatives - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 1, 2013

The US launched its third drone strike in Yemen in the past five days, killing five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in an area in eastern Yemen that is said to be under the control of the terrorist group.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched a pair of missiles at a target in the Qatan Valley in Hadramout province today, killing five "al Qaeda militants," and wounding three others, Xinhua reported. Reuters said the missiles struck a car, while Xinhua reported that the strike took place at an "al Qaeda-held site in the Qatan valley" that is "used for training terrorists."

No senior al Qaeda operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed at this time. The identities of the al Qaeda operatives who were killed have not been disclosed.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 42 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, have taken place in the province. Today's strike in Hadramout is the first in the province so far this year.

Since losing control of large areas of Abyan and Shabwa, AQAP has spread out into the provinces of Aden, Baydah, Al Jawf, Damar, Hadramout, Hodeida, Ibb, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a. Of the 35 drones strikes recorded by The Long War Journal over the past 12 months, 28 have taken place in the provinces of Aden, Baydah, Al Jawf, Damar, Hadramout, Hodeida, Ibb, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a.

Read more: US drones kill 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*Local AQAP commander reported killed in recent US drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 3, 2013

An al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader who commanded forces in the restive southern Yemeni province of Abyan is reported to have been killed in a US drone strike that took place in a neighboring province four days ago.

Al Khidr Husayn al Ja'dani is said to have been killed in the July 30 strike that targeted a vehicle as it was traveling through the town of Saeed in the southern province of Shabwa, according to Aden al Ghad, an Arabic-language newspaper in southern Yemen. Two Yemenis, including al Ja'dani and another operative from Lahj province, and a Saudi AQAP operative were initially reported to have been killed in the strike.

Al Ja'dani was described by Aden al Ghad as a "leading figure in the armed groups known as Ansar al Sharia," AQAP's political front. He is also said to be AQAP's overall commander in Abyan province. He is thought to have led a failed attempt to retake the city of Lawdar in 2012.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has not released a statement confirming or denying al Ja'dani's death.

Al Ja'dani replaced Abdul Mun'im Salim al Fatahani (Abdel-Monem al Fathani), the former emir for AQAP in Abyan province. Al Fatahani was involved in the October 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden that killed 17 US sailors and put the warship out of commission for months before it was repaired. Fatahani was also involved in a 2002 bombing in the Gulf of Aden that damaged the Limburg, a French-flagged oil tanker. One crew member was killed in the attack.

Read more: Local AQAP commander reported killed in recent US drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US kills 4 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 6, 2013

The US launched its fourth drone strike in Yemen in the past 10 days, killing four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in an area in central Yemen that is known to host jihadists. The strike takes place as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is at the core of an al Qaeda plot that forces the closure of more than 20 diplomatic facilities across the Middle East and Africa.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at a vehicle today as it was traveling in the Wadi Abeedah district in Marib province, according to the Yemen Post. The drones also struck a nearby compound, the news outlet reported.

Four AQAP operatives, including "an al-Qaeda leader," are reported to have been killed in the strike on the vehicle. According to a tribal source, the dead included Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli and Saleh Ali Guti, AFP noted. Al Waeli was among those whose names appeared on a list of Yemen's 25 most-wanted terrorists that was published yesterday.

AQAP leaders are known to operate in Marib. In June, the general director of Al Madina district in Marib Province claimed that top al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders Nasir al Wuhayshi, Said al Shihri, and Qassim al Raymi were present in his district.

The US has stepped up attacks in Yemen; today's strike is the fourth in 10 days. The last strike, on Aug. 1, killed five AQAP fighters in the eastern province of Hadramout. On July 30, US drones killed three AQAP fighters, including a Saudi operative, in a strike in Shabwa province; a mid-level AQAP commander is reported to have been killed in the strike. The previous strike, on July 27, which is said to have killed six AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in Abyan province, broke a seven-week pause in drone activity in Yemen.

The recent spike in attacks is likely related to the terror warning by the US that led to the closure of diplomatic facilities in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. US officials said they have intercepted communications between al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and Nasir al Wuhayshi, AQAP's leader and al Qaeda's general manager.

The strike also took place the day after the Yemeni government issued rewards of five million Yemeni Rials (an estimated $23,000) for 25 AQAP operatives who are "planning to carryout operations in the capital, Sana'a."

"The Yemeni government has taken all necessary precautions to secure diplomatic facilities, vital installations and strategic assets," according to a statement released by the Yemeni government.

Topping the list are Ibrahim Sulaiman al Rubaish, AQAP's leading ideologue and theologian and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and Ibrahim Hassan al Asiri, the terror group's top bomb maker who has designed devices that are said to be undetectable by traditional screening methods.

Read more: US kills 4 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*Obama administration authorized series of recent drone strikes in Yemen*

By Greg Miller, Anne Gearan and Sudarsan Raghavan, Updated: Tuesday, August 6, 8:09 PM 

The Obama administration authorized a series of drone strikes in Yemen over the past 10 days as part of an effort to disrupt an al-Qaeda terrorism plot that has forced the closure of American embassies around the world, U.S. officials said.

The officials said the revived drone campaign &#8212; with four strikes in rapid succession &#8212; is directly related to the emergence of intelligence indicating that al-Qaeda&#8217;s leader has urged the group&#8217;s Yemen affiliate to attack Western targets.

The officials said it is not clear whether the most recent attacks have suppressed the danger, acknowledging that there is no indication that senior al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen have been killed. The latest strike, on Tuesday, reportedly killed four militants in the impoverished nation&#8217;s Marib province, a Yemeni security official said.

&#8220;It&#8217;s too early to tell whether we&#8217;ve actually disrupted anything,&#8221; a senior U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The official described the renewed air assault as part of a coordinated response to intelligence that has alarmed counterterrorism officials but lacks specific details about what al-Qaeda may target or when.

&#8220;What the U.S. government is trying to do here is to buy time,&#8221; the official added.

The State Department underlined that approach on Tuesday, announcing that it had ordered the evacuation of much of the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and urged all Americans to leave the country immediately.

In a global travel alert, the State Department said that all non-emergency U.S. government personnel would be removed &#8220;due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks.&#8221; It described an &#8220;extremely high&#8221; security threat level in Yemen.

Yemen is the home base of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the branch of the terrorist group thought to be the most likely to attack U.S. or Western interests. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen was among 19 that were closed through Saturday, as were embassies in Yemen representing several European nations. The British Embassy said Tuesday that it had removed its staff.

The State Department&#8217;s decision drew a sharp rebuke from the Yemeni government, which said the evacuation &#8220;serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism.&#8221;

&#8220;Yemen has taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions in the capital,&#8221; the Yemeni Embassy in Washington said in a statement.

State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki took issue with Yemen&#8217;s assertion that the U.S. move rewards terrorists, and said the decision to remove Americans from the country for safety reasons speaks for itself.

At the same time, jihadists took to Web forums to celebrate the closure of the embassies, with some boasting that doing so was a &#8220;nightmare&#8221; for the United States, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a nonprofit organization that monitors the forums.

The burst of drone activity provides new insight into the Obama administration&#8217;s approach to counterterrorism operations. U.S. officials said the CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, which operate parallel drone campaigns in Yemen, have refrained from launching missiles for several months in part because of more restrictive targeting guidelines imposed by President Obama this year. Those new rules, however, allow for strikes to resume in response to an elevated threat.

&#8220;They have been holding fire,&#8221; said a U.S. official with access to information about the al-Qaeda threat and the drone campaign. But intercepted communications between al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is believed to be in Pakistan, and his counterpart in Yemen, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, have raised concern that the network is preparing an assault on Western targets.

&#8220;The chatter is coming from Yemen,&#8221; the official said. Embassies outside the region were closed not because they were specifically mentioned but because in Yemen and other countries, they would be prominent targets.

A few dozen U.S. Special Operations forces have been stationed in Yemen since last year to train Yemeni counterterrorism forces and to help pinpoint targets for airstrikes against al-Qaeda targets in the country. The U.S. military carries out drone strikes in Yemen from its base in Djibouti, while the CIA flies armed drones from a separate base in Saudi Arabia.

The CIA and the U.S. military have carried out 16 drone strikes in Yemen this year, according to the New America Foundation, which monitors the drone campaign. Last year, a record 54 strikes occurred.

The Pentagon said it will keep an undisclosed number of military personnel in Yemen to support the U.S. Embassy &#8220;and monitor the security situation.&#8221; U.S. military officials did not specify how many Americans were flown out of Yemen or where they were taken.

Obama administration authorized recent drone strikes in Yemen - The Washington Post


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## TruthSeeker

*US strikes again in Yemen, kills 7 AQAP operatives in drone attack*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 7, 2013

The US launched its fifth drone strike in Yemen in the past 11 days, killing seven al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in an area in southern Yemen where the terror group is known to operate. The strike takes place as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is at the core of an al Qaeda plot that has forced the closure of more than 20 diplomatic facilities across the Middle East and Africa. The Yemeni government has also claimed it broke up several plots to attack oil facilities in the country.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at two vehicles in the Markha area of Shabwa province, The Associated Press reported.

Seven AQAP operatives are said to have killed in the attack, but their identities have not been disclosed.

AQAP leaders are known to operate in Shabwa; the province was under AQAP control from May 2011 until the summer of 2012, when the Yemeni military launched an offensive to wrest control of Shabwa from the terror group.

The US has stepped up attacks in Yemen; today's strike is the fifth in 11 days. The last strike took place yesterday in Marib province. An AQAP operative known as Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli is reported to be among those killed. Al Waeli's name appeared on a list, published on Aug. 5, of Yemen's 25 most-wanted terrorists who were plotting to conduct attacks in the capital of Sana'a and in a number of other governorates.

On Aug. 1, killed five AQAP fighters in the eastern province of Hadramout. On July 30, US drones killed three AQAP fighters, including a Saudi operative, in a strike in Shabwa province; a mid-level AQAP commander is reported to have been killed in the strike. The previous strike, on July 27, which is said to have killed six AQAP fighters in the Al Mahfad area in Abyan province, broke a seven-week pause in drone activity in Yemen.

The recent spike in attacks is related to the terror warning by the US that led to the closure of diplomatic facilities in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. US officials said they have intercepted communications between al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and Nasir al Wuhayshi, AQAP's leader and al Qaeda's general manager.

According to the Daily Beast, the intercepted communications between Zawahiri and Wuhayshi "happened in a conference call that included the leaders or representatives of the top leadership of al Qaeda and its affiliates calling in from different locations," and "more than 20 al Qaeda operatives were on the call." Representatives from groups such as the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Boko Haram are said to have been in on the call.

Today's strike also took place the day after the Yemeni government issued rewards of five million Yemeni rials (an estimated $23,000) for information leading to the arrest of 25 AQAP operatives who are "planning to carryout operations in the capital, Sana'a, in addition to a number of Yemeni governorates."

"The Yemeni government has taken all necessary precautions to secure diplomatic facilities, vital installations and strategic assets," a statement released by the Yemeni government said.

Topping Yemen's list are Ibrahim Sulaiman al Rubaish, AQAP's leading ideologue and theologian and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee; and Ibrahim Hassan al Asiri, the terror group's senior bomb maker who has designed devices that are said to be undetectable by traditional screening methods.

The Yemeni government claimed today to have disrupted a major plot to take over the city of Mukallah, the provincial capital of Hadramout, and target oil export terminals and facilities.

"The plan involved dozens of al Qaeda members dressed in Yemeni army uniforms storming the facilities," including the Al Dabbah and Balhaf export facilities, Al Jazeera reported.

Read more: US strikes again in Yemen, kills 7 AQAP operatives in drone attack - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US strikes twice in Yemen, kills 11 AQAP operatives in drone attacks*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 7, 2013

The US launched two drone strike in Yemen in the past 24 hours, killing 11 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in areas in southern and central Yemen where the terror group is known to operate. The strikes take place as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is at the core of an al Qaeda plot that has forced the closure of more than 20 diplomatic facilities across the Middle East and Africa. The Yemeni government has also claimed it broke up several plots to attack oil facilities in the country.

In the first strike, the remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched several missiles at two vehicles in the Markha area of Shabwa province, The Associated Press reported.

Seven AQAP operatives are said to have killed in the attack. The Yemen Post reported that one of the seven fighters killed was Sarhan al Thamlaqi, who was on a lsit of 25 wanted AQAP operatives.

In a second strike, US drones hit a target in Marib province, The Yemen Post reported. Four AQAP fighters and two civilians were killed in the strike, CNN reported.

AQAP leaders are known to operate in Shabwa; the province was under AQAP control from May 2011 until the summer of 2012, when the Yemeni military launched an offensive to wrest control of Shabwa from the terror group. Marib is also a stronghold of AQAP.

The US has stepped up attacks in Yemen; today's strikes are the fifth and six in 11 days. The last strike took place yesterday in Marib province. An AQAP operative known as Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli is reported to be among those killed. Al Waeli's name appeared on a list, published on Aug. 5, of Yemen's 25 most-wanted terrorists who were plotting to conduct attacks in the capital of Sana'a and in a number of other governorates.


Read more: US strikes twice in Yemen, kills 11 AQAP operatives in drone attacks - The Long War Journal


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## TruthSeeker

*US targets AQAP in two more drone strikes, kill 6 operatives*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 8, 2013

The US launched two more airstrikes in Yemen, killing six more al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as part of an effort to disrupt a global plot to target Western facilities and allied countries.

The first strike took place in the eastern province of Hadramout, a bastion for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers struck a vehicle in the Al Ayoon area, The Associated Press reported. Three AQAP fighters are said to have been killed in the latest attack.

The second killed three more AQAP fighters in the Al Qutn area of Hadramout, AP reported. The three fighters were killed after drones struck their vehicle.

No senior al Qaeda operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed at this time. The identities of the al Qaeda operatives who were killed have not been disclosed.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 42 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, have taken place in the province. Today's strikes in Hadramout are the second and third in the province so far this year; the last strike was on Aug. 1.

Yesterday, Yemeni officials claimed that AQAP was plotting to attack Mukallah, the provincial capital of Hadramout, as well as the Al Dabbah oil and Balhaf gas export facilities, Yemeni officials claimed. AQAP fighters were to hit the city and facilities with fighters disguised as policemen. Today, Yemeni officials are distancing themselves from the claim.

The US has launched four strikes in Yemen in the past two days. Yesterday, US drones killed seven AQAP fighters in a strike in Shabwa. And late last night, the US killed four more fighters and two civilians in Marib.

The US has stepped up attacks in Yemen; there have been eight strikes in Yemen in the past 12 days. The location of the strikes highlights AQAP's geographical reach in Yemen: three of the strikes took place in Hadramout, two in Abyan, two in Marib, and one in Abyan.

Read more: US targets AQAP in two more drone strikes, kill 6 operatives - The Long War Journal


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## Takaavar

TruthSeeker said:


> The identities of the al Qaeda operatives who were killed have not been disclosed.



How are they sure that they were al-Qaeda members then?

No court, no judgment, only suspect and press the button.

Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

Takaavar said:


> How are they sure that they were al-Qaeda members then?
> 
> No court, no judgment, only suspect and press the button.



Yes. What is good for the goose is good for the gander ......


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## Takaavar

TruthSeeker said:


> Yes. What is good for the goose is good for the gander ......



So do you mean if al-Qaeda kills people such US can also do that with al-Qaeda? What would be difference between US and al-Qaeda then? Both looks to be murderer.


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## Takaavar

I said that because I've repeatedly seen news that US has killed people in Yemen because they were "*suspected* to be al-Qaeda member", it's really funny how careless these guys become when it comes to lives of other people.



Takaavar said:


> How are they sure that they were al-Qaeda members then?
> 
> No court, no judgment, only suspect and press the button.


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## Nishan_101

Yemen should concentrate on making a potent Air defence(Low, Medium and High Level), Maritime Surface Defence and Maritime Submerge Defence(placing Sonar in their coastal region) is really needed and not only by Yemen only but for all the Muslim countries too.


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## TruthSeeker

Takaavar said:


> So do you mean if al-Qaeda kills people such US can also do that with al-Qaeda?



Yes.



Takaavar said:


> What would be difference between US and al-Qaeda then? Both looks to be murderer.


 al-Qaeda declared war on the United States. We are at war with al Qaeda. Killing the enemy during a war is not murder, which is a legal term for an unjustified killing. We are killing al Qaeda people but not murdering them. Get it?


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## TruthSeeker

*There have been nine suspected U.S. drone strikes in Yemen since July 27.*

SANAA, Yemen (AP) &#8212; A suspected U.S. drone strike killed two alleged al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen on Saturday, military officials said, making it the ninth such strike in just two weeks.

The strike in Lahj province wounded two other militants, one of them seriously, the officials said. The four had been traveling in a car in the area of el-Askariya. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said it was the first time a U.S. drone fired on this area of Lahj.

In total, there have been nine suspected U.S. drone strikes in Yemen since July 27. The drone attacks in that two-week period have killed a total of 38 suspected militants in Yemen, which is the Arab world's most impoverished country.

While the U.S. acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not usually talk about individual strikes. The program is run by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA, with the military flying its drones out of Djibouti, and the CIA out of a base in Saudi Arabia.

An accelerated use of drone strikes in Yemen under President Barack Obama and a U.S.-backed offensive last year drove militants from territory they had seized a year earlier, during Yemen's political turmoil amid the Arab Spring.

Washington recently flew diplomatic staff out of Yemen's capital over fears of a terrorist attack. The U.S., which is set to reopen diplomatic posts that were temporarily closed this week throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East amid a major terror alert, will keep its embassy in Yemen closed.

Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed met on Saturday with Deputy U.S. Ambassador Karen Sasahara and two American security officials based in Yemen to discuss the security situation.

In a statement, the defense minister said he expressed appreciation during the meeting for U.S. logistical and technical support to the Yemeni armed forces in their fight against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Washington considers the group as the most dangerous al-Qaeda branch to threaten U.S. interests.

Earlier this month, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi met Obama in Washington. The two discussed the recent al-Qaeda threats.

Suspected U.S. drone strike kills 2 in Yemen


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## Takaavar

TruthSeeker said:


> al-Qaeda declared war on the United States. We are at war with al Qaeda. Killing the enemy during a war is not murder, which is a legal term for an unjustified killing. We are killing al Qaeda people but not murdering them. Get it?



Cool. However, "you" are not killing the enemy, you are carelessly killing people that you only suspect to be the enemy.


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## gambit

Takaavar said:


> Cool. However, "you" are not killing the enemy, you are carelessly killing people that you only suspect to be the enemy.


They suspect US citizens to be the enemy.


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## Takaavar

gambit said:


> They suspect US citizens to be the enemy.



So I ask it again: what would be the difference between the terrorist group al-Qaeda and US?


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## gambit

Takaavar said:


> So I ask it again: what would be the difference between the terrorist group al-Qaeda and US?


We are the good guys and they are the bad guys.

Looky here...I can tell already that you are not interested in a reasonably intelligent discussion but rather in hyperbolic rhetoric against US. So stay with what you know best -- shallow.

Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

*US kills local AQAP commander in drone strike in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 30, 2013

The US killed a local commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and two other fighters in the first reported drone strike in Yemen in 20 days. Kaid al Dhahab, the AQAP commander, served as the group's emir in the central province of Baydah.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers killed Kaid and the two other fighters this morning as they were traveling in a vehicle in the village of Manasseh in Baydah, tribal sources and officials told AFP. Mohammed Albasha, Yemen's official spokesman in Washington, confirmed Kaid's death in a statement on Twitter.

"AQAP's commander in Baydah, kaid al Dhahab, the Emir of AAS [Ansar al Sharia, AQAP's political front in Yemen] in Rada'a was killed in an airstrike. He evaded capture\death before," Albasha said.

AQAP has not released an official statement confirming Kaid's death. The identities of the other two fighters killed in the strike have not been disclosed.

Kaid and his brother, Nabil, who is also a senior AQAP official in Baydah, have been the target of a US drone strike in the past. On May 28, 2012, the US targeted Kaid and Nabil in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after the death of another brother, Tariq. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in the fall of 2011.

According to Albasha, Kaid "built an AQAP training camp" in Manasseh, and "commanded dozens of AQAP fighters" in Abyan, "where he was wounded" while fighting against the Yemeni military.

The US has conducted 13 drone strikes against AQAP in Baydah province since March 2012; prior to March 2012, there were no drone strikes in the province. The last strike in the province was on May 20; two AQAP fighters were reported killed in the strike.

The two previous drone strikes in Baydah province killed two notable local AQAP operatives. In January, US drones killed Mukbel Abbad, a senior AQAP leader in the province. Abbad was a brother-in-law of Tariq al Dhahab. And in December 2012, a drone strike killed Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, an AQAP operative from Marib province who escaped from prison in 2010, and an unidentified Jordanian.

Background on US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the first in Yemen since Aug. 10, when the US targeted AQAP operatives traveling in Lahj province. Between July 27 and Aug. 10, the US launched nine strikes in Yemen. No drone strikes were reported for seven weeks prior to July 27.

The burst in attacks was related to an al Qaeda plot that was uncovered by US officials. The US closed down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot is thought to have involved AQAP.

The US has launched 22 drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. Despite the recent uptick of activity at the end of July and into the second week of August, the pace of the strikes has still decreased since last year. In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

Although six senior AQAP operatives, including the group's deputy emir, Said al Shihri, were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Just two weeks ago, AQAP confirmed that al Shihri, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was killed; he is thought to have died or to have been seriously wounded following a strike in October 2012.

The US has targeted not only senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, but also low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed, however, that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.

Read more: US kills local AQAP commander in drone strike in central Yemen - The Long War Journal


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## Black Eagle 90

TruthSeeker said:


> *US kills local AQAP commander in drone strike in central Yemen*
> 
> By BILL ROGGIO, August 30, 2013
> 
> The US killed a local commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and two other fighters in the first reported drone strike in Yemen in 20 days. Kaid al Dhahab, the AQAP commander, served as the group's emir in the central province of Baydah.
> 
> The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers killed Kaid and the two other fighters this morning as they were traveling in a vehicle in the village of Manasseh in Baydah, tribal sources and officials told AFP. Mohammed Albasha, Yemen's official spokesman in Washington, confirmed Kaid's death in a statement on Twitter.
> 
> "AQAP's commander in Baydah, kaid al Dhahab, the Emir of AAS [Ansar al Sharia, AQAP's political front in Yemen] in Rada'a was killed in an airstrike. He evaded capture\death before," Albasha said.
> 
> AQAP has not released an official statement confirming Kaid's death. The identities of the other two fighters killed in the strike have not been disclosed.
> 
> Kaid and his brother, Nabil, who is also a senior AQAP official in Baydah, have been the target of a US drone strike in the past. On May 28, 2012, the US targeted Kaid and Nabil in a strike in the town of Rada'a.
> 
> Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after the death of another brother, Tariq. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."
> 
> Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in the fall of 2011.
> 
> According to Albasha, Kaid "built an AQAP training camp" in Manasseh, and "commanded dozens of AQAP fighters" in Abyan, "where he was wounded" while fighting against the Yemeni military.
> 
> The US has conducted 13 drone strikes against AQAP in Baydah province since March 2012; prior to March 2012, there were no drone strikes in the province. The last strike in the province was on May 20; two AQAP fighters were reported killed in the strike.
> 
> The two previous drone strikes in Baydah province killed two notable local AQAP operatives. In January, US drones killed Mukbel Abbad, a senior AQAP leader in the province. Abbad was a brother-in-law of Tariq al Dhahab. And in December 2012, a drone strike killed Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, an AQAP operative from Marib province who escaped from prison in 2010, and an unidentified Jordanian.
> 
> Background on US strikes in Yemen
> 
> Today's strike is the first in Yemen since Aug. 10, when the US targeted AQAP operatives traveling in Lahj province. Between July 27 and Aug. 10, the US launched nine strikes in Yemen. No drone strikes were reported for seven weeks prior to July 27.
> 
> The burst in attacks was related to an al Qaeda plot that was uncovered by US officials. The US closed down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot is thought to have involved AQAP.
> 
> The US has launched 22 drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. Despite the recent uptick of activity at the end of July and into the second week of August, the pace of the strikes has still decreased since last year. In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.
> 
> Although six senior AQAP operatives, including the group's deputy emir, Said al Shihri, were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Just two weeks ago, AQAP confirmed that al Shihri, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was killed; he is thought to have died or to have been seriously wounded following a strike in October 2012.
> 
> The US has targeted not only senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, but also low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed, however, that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.
> 
> For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.
> 
> Read more: US kills local AQAP commander in drone strike in central Yemen - The Long War Journal



Better for Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar to become a part of Saudi Arabia and also Oman and UAE should also join with ach other too.


----------



## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 3 AQAP fighters in Yemen airstrike*

By BILL ROGGIO, November 19, 2013

The US killed three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters today in the first recorded drone strike in Yemen since the end of August. The strike took place in an eastern province of Yemen where AQAP has been regrouping over the past year.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers killed the three AQAP fighters in a strike on a vehicle as it traveled in the Ghayl Bawazir area near Mukallah, the provincial capital of the eastern province of Hadramout, according to _Reuters_. Yemeni officials denied that its military carried out an airstrike in the area, _The Associated Press_ reported. Yemeni officials, including President Hadi, have stated in the past that the Yemeni air force does not possess the ability to strike moving vehicles.

The target of today's strike was not disclosed. No senior AQAP commanders or operatives are reported to have been killed at this time.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years. In May, the Yemeni government claimed it foiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in the Ghayl Bawazir area.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 42 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, have taken place in the province. And four of the 23 strikes in Yemen so far this year, or 17%, have occurred in Hadramout.




Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/11/us_drones_kill_3_aqa_1.php#ixzz2lQsgBkoa


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP says assault on Yemen's Defense Ministry targeted US drone operations*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 6, 2013

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed it executed yesterday's suicide assault on the Ministry of Defense in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a in an effort to strike at the US' drone program that targets AQAP leaders, operatives, and foot soldiers. The suicide assault resulted in the deaths of 52 people, including foreign doctors and nurses, and 11 AQAP fighters.

AQAP made the claim in a series of tweets at the newly established Twitter site of "Malahem Media." The Twitter site was promoted by Abdul Razzaq al Jamal, a Yemeni journalist who is closely tied to AQAP and "who often posts communiqués and videos from AQAP before their official release on jihadi forums," according to the SITE Intelligence Group. Al Malahem Media is the official media outlet for AQAP.

AQAP claimed it targeted the "operation rooms" for the drone program.

"As part of the policy of targeting the operation rooms of pilotless planes, the mujahideen (holy fighters) have heavily struck one of these rooms in Defense Ministry headquarters," the group said, according to _Reuters_.

"Such joint military locations, which participate with the Americans in their war against this Muslim nation, are a legitimate target for our operations," AQAP continued in another tweet.

No US casualties were reported in yesterday's assault, nor is it clear if the US maintains an operations room inside Yemen's Ministry of Defense. Seven foreigners -- two German and two Vietnamese doctors, and one Indian and two Filipino nurses -- were killed during the attack as AQAP fighters overran a hospital inside the defense ministry complex.

The US has launched 23 drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. Between July 27 and Aug. 10, the US launched nine strikes in Yemen, but no drone strikes were reported for seven weeks prior to July 27. The spike in attacks from the end of July to mid-August was related to an al Qaeda plot that was uncovered by US officials. The plot's discovery led the US to close down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot involved AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi, who now also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

Despite the uptick of activity at the end of July and into the second week of August, the pace of the strikes has decreased since last year. In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/aqap_claims_assault.php#ixzz2n03qfF80


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 3 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 9, 2013

The US killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in a drone strike today in an eastern province in Yemen where the terror group has stepped up its activities.

The remotely piloted strike aircraft fired several missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the Al Qutn area of Hadramout, Reuters reported. The identity of those killed was not disclosed; a Yemeni intelligence official told the news agency that the bodies were burned beyond recognition.

The target of today's strike was not disclosed. No senior AQAP commanders or operatives are reported to have been killed at this time. AQAP has not released a statement on the attack.

Today's strike is the first reported in Yemen* since Nov. 19*, when three AQAP fighters were killed in the Ghayl Bawazir area of Hadramout.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years. In May, the Yemeni government claimed it foiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in the Ghayl Bawazir area.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 42 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, took place in the province. And so far this year, five of the 24 strikes in Yemen, or 21%, have occurred in Hadramout.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/us_drones_kill_3_aqa_2.php#ixzz2nBmnKTFm


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills civilians in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 12, 2013

The US launched its second drone strike in Yemen this week, killing several civilians in an attack on a wedding convoy that is thought to have included members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Today's strike took place near the city of Rada'a in the central province of Baydah, _The Associated Press_ reported. Yemeni military and intelligence officials said the drones hit a group of vehicles transporting members of a wedding party, but one Yemeni security official said al Qaeda members were thought to have been traveling with the convoy.

Fifteen people were killed and five more were wounded, according to _Reuters_. The initial press accounts indicate that all of those killed were civilians.

The US has mistakenly killed civilians in drone strikes in the past. On Sept. 2, 2012, the US killed 13 civilians in a strike in Rada'a, according to Yemeni tribesmen. The exact target of that strike is not known. Seventeen civilians are reported to have been killed in Yemen in 2013, and an additional 25 were killed in 2012, according to data compiled by _The Long War Journal_. Two hundred and ninety jihadists are reported to have been killed in drone strikes in Yemen in 2012 and 2013.

Rada'a was an AQAP stronghold in early 2012, when a senior AQAP leader known as Tariq al Dhahab took control of the town, raised al Qaeda's flag, and swore allegiance to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. Tariq was later killed by a brother who is opposed to al Qaeda.

Another brother, known as Kaid al Dhahab, took over to serve as AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah. The US killed Kaid in a drone strike in Baydah on Aug. 30.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/us_drone_strike_kill_24.php#ixzz2nJmxo18D


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 2 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, December 27, 2013

The US killed two suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters today in the first drone strike since mid-December, when 15 civilians were reported to have been killed in another US attack in central Yemen.

The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a pickup truck as it traveled near the town of Shibam in the eastern province of Hadramout today, _Gulf News_ reported. The vehicle was destroyed and the bodies of those killed have not been identified, according to _Agence France Presse_.

No senior AQAP leaders or operatives are reported to have been killed at this time. AQAP does not comment on each strike that is carried out in Yemen.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years. In May, the Yemeni government claimed it foiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in the Ghayl Bawazir area.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 41 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, took place in the province. And so far this year, six of the 26 strikes in Yemen, or 23%, have occurred in Hadramout.

Today's strike is the first recorded in Yemen since Dec. 12, when US drones accidentally killed 15 civilians as they traveled in a wedding party in Rada'a in the central province of Al Baydah. Yemeni officials said that the strike targeted Shawqi Ali Ahmad al Badani, a wanted midlevel AQAP commander. Al Badani is said to be linked to the al Qaeda plot that resulted in the shuttering of US embassies and diplomatic facilities worldwide. US officials claimed that no civilians died in the strike, and that between nine and 12 AQAP fighters were killed.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/us_drones_kill_2_aqa_1.php#ixzz2ojWrLUEa


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 2 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, January 8, 2014

Two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed today in the first recorded US drone strike in Yemen or Pakistan this year.

The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the Al Qutn area of Yemen's Hadramout province, killing two suspected AQAP fighters, _Reuters_ reported.

The identities of the two AQAP fighters have not been disclosed. No senior AQAP operatives or leaders are reported to have been killed. AQAP has not commented on today's strike.

Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years. AQAP has regrouped in Hadramout and other provinces after losing control of major cities in Abyan and Shabwa provinces to government forces starting in late spring 2012. In May 2013, the Yemeni government claimed itfoiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in the Ghayl Bawazir area.

In 2012, the US stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout. Prior to May 2012, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. From mid-May until the end of 2012, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 41 drone strikes in Yemen in 2012, or 17%, took place in the province. In 2013, six of the 26 strikes in Yemen, or 23%, occurred in Hadramout.

Four of the past five drone strikes have taken place in Hadramout. Two of the strikes hit targets in Al Qutn; the other two strikes occurred in Ghayl Bawazir and Shibam.

Today's strike is the second recorded in Yemen since Dec. 12, when US drones accidentally killed 15 civilians as they traveled in a wedding party in Rada'a in the central province of Al Baydah. Yemeni officials said that the strike targeted Shawqi Ali Ahmad al Badani, a wanted midlevel AQAP commander. Al Badani is said to be linked to the al Qaeda plot that resulted in the shuttering of US embassies and diplomatic facilities worldwide. US officials claimed that no civilians died in the strike, and that between nine and 12 AQAP fighters were killed. The US has opened an investigation into the claims that civilians were killed in the Dec. 12 strike.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/us_drones_kill_2_aqa_2.php#ixzz2prebdhlB


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike targets AQAP in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, January 24, 2014

The US killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters last night, in the third drone strike in Yemen so far this year.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle transporting AQAP fighters in Wadi Abida in the central province of Marib on Thursday night, a Yemeni official told _Xinhua_. The official said the strike was executed "in coordination with the Yemeni interior ministry."

Yemen's Interior Ministry confirmed that it "foiled an attempt by al Qaeda militants to seize some government institutions in Marib province," _Xinhua_ reported.

Four people were killed and seven more were wounded in the strike. _The Associated Press_ reported that "three suspected al Qaeda militants" were killed.

AQAP is known to operate in Marib province, and the US has targeted AQAP in Wadi Abida three times in the past. Two of the strikes took place in 2013 and the other in 2012. A few years earlier, in March 2008, Wadi Abida was identified as the base of an al Qaeda group known as the Yemen Soldiers Brigade. The group claimed credit for mortar attacks against the US Embassy, the Italian Embassy, and a Western housing complex in Sana'a in 2008.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/us_drone_strikes_tar_1.php#ixzz2rT3jql5V


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## TruthSeeker

*US kills 3 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, March 3, 2014

The US killed three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a drone strike in Yemen today. The strike is the first recorded in Yemen in more than five weeks. The target of the attack was a senior AQAP commander who in the past said he is not afraid of dying in a US airstrike.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired a missile at a vehicle near Mayfa in Shabwa province. An AQAP operative known as Mujahid Gaber Saleh al Shabwani and two other AQAP operatives are reported to have been killed, _The Hindu _reported.

Al Shabwani was on a list of 25 wanted al-Qaeda operatives that was released by the Yemeni government in August 2013. He was among those who are wanted for attacking Yemeni government and security installations.

Abdul Razzaq al Jamal, a Yemeni journalist who is closely tied to AQAP and who often releases the group's propaganda, reported on his Facebook account that the target of today's airstrike was Sheikh Ma'moun Abdulhamid Hatem, an AQAP leader and cleric who is also a tribal leader in Ibb province. Hatem "escaped," according to al Jamal. US officials contacted by _The Long War Journal _would not comment on the target of the strike, but one intelligence official said Hatem is "a person of interest."

Hatem was interviewed by al Jamal in March 2013, and said he did not fear death from US drones as martyrdom while waging jihad is welcomed. Hatem also said that the drone strikes were increasing local support for AQAP.

AQAP is known to operate in Shabwa province. Most of the province was under AQAP control between May 2011 and May 2012.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/03/us_targets_aqap_comm.php


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## Beidou2020

The thuggish Yankee regime only kills innocent civilians.


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## MooshMoosh



Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill al Qaeda operative who fought in Iraq*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, March 5, 2014

Today the US launched the second drone strike in Yemen in three days. The strike, which took place in northern Yemen, killed a jihadist who fought in Iraq.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the Khalka area of Al Jawf province province. Four "militants," including a local commander known as Ali Juraym, were killed in the strike.

Yemeni news sources claim that Ali Juraym, whose full name is Ali Saleh Juraym Al Olyan, was an al Qaeda commander known to have returned from Iraq. Al Olyan was reportedly from the Al Sayda tribe hailing from the Al Jawf province in northern Yemen. Yemeni tribal sources said that they could not identify the other AQAP fighters who were killed with Al Olyan due to the severity of their injuries. They also confirmed that al Qaeda operatives arrived at the scene shortly after the drone strike to collect the militants' remains.

Yemeni are known to fight in Iraq and in other theaters of jihad. In the past, the government encouraged its young men to fight in Iraq and then return to fight against the Houthis, a Shia rebel group in the north. In early 2007, a Yemeni newspaper counted more than 1,800 Yemenis who traveled to Iraq for jihad; their families said the young men were trained by top-level Yemeni military commanders.

Al Jawf is a known haven for top al Qaeda leaders. US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf four other times since the beginning of 2010. The last strike in the province took place in June 2013. An AQAP commander known as Saleh Hassan Jredan, his brother, and four other fighters were reported killed in that strike.

Two of the five strikes in Al Jawf targeted top AQAP leaders. In September 2011, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, and Samir Khan, an American who ran Inspire Magazine, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/03/us_drones_kill_al_qa.php



Beidou2020 said:


> The thuggish Yankee regime only kills innocent civilians.




You're just jealous ......


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 4 AQAP commanders and fighters in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, March 11, 2014




Aftermath of a US drone strike that targeted two vehicles in Marib province on March 10. Image from _Al Khabar Now_.

Late last night a US drone strike killed four al Qaeda commanders and fighters in Marib province east of Sana'a, the Yemeni capital. The strike is the third in Yemen so far this month.

Arabic media reports indicate that the drones fired two missiles at two vehicles carrying al Qaeda operatives as they traveled in the Wadi Abida area of Al Shabwa district in Marib.

The two al Qaeda leaders confirmed killed in the attack were identified as Ebad Mobarak Al Shabwani and Ja'afar Mohammad Jaber Al Shabwani. Ebad and Ja'afar were not on Yemen's most recent list of wanted al Qaeda leaders. The identities of the other two killed in the strike were not confirmed, but Arabic new sources suggest that they too were members of al Qaeda.

The Al Shabwan tribe has been recurrently involved in al Qaeda activity in the country, and drone strikes have targeted a number of the tribe members. Most recently, Mujahid Jaber Saleh al Shabwani, an AQAP leader who had returned from fighting in Iraq, was killed in Shabwa province by a US drone strike [see _LWJ_ report, US kills 3 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike]. AQAP is known to operate in Shabwa province, where much of the Shabwan tribe is based. Most of the province was under AQAP control between May 2011 and May 2012.

The US has targeted AQAP in Wadi Abida in Marib four other times in the past. The last strike in Wadi Abida took place on Jan. 23, 2014; four AQAP fighters were reported killed in the attack. Two of the strikes took place in 2013 and the other in 2012. A few years earlier, in March 2008, Wadi Abida was identified as the base of an al Qaeda group known as the Yemen Soldiers Brigade. The group claimed credit for mortar attacks against the US Embassy, the Italian Embassy, and a Western housing complex in Sana'a in 2008.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/03/us_drones_kill_4_aqa_2.php

Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill local AQAP commander and bodyguard*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, March 12, 2014

The US killed a local al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula commander and his bodyguard in the fourth recorded strike in Yemen so far this month.

Today's airstrike, which was carried out by the remotely piloted Predators or Reapers, targeted a vehicle as it traveled in the Jebel Jame area in the northern province of Al Jawf. The strike killed a local AQAP military commander known as Moajab bin Aziz, as well as his bodyguard, according to reports.

Al Jawf is a known haven for top al Qaeda leaders. US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf five other times since the beginning of 2010. The last strike in the province took place just one week ago, on March 5. That attack killed Ali Saleh Juraym Al Olyan, a local al Qaeda commander said to have returned from fighting in Iraq, and three other AQAP fighters.

Two of the six strikes in Al Jawf have targeted top-tier AQAP leaders. In September 2011,the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, and Samir Khan, an American who ran Inspire Magazine, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

The US has stepped up the targeting of AQAP's network in Yemen over the past two weeks after a more than five-week-long pause that began at the end of January. Since March 3, the US has executed four drone strikes inside Yemen.

The March strikes have killed five local AQAP military commanders as well as eight fighters, according to data compiled by _The Long War Journal_. In addition to the March 5 airstrike that killed al Olyan, the US also killed Mujahid Gaber Saleh al Shabwani in a strike in Shabwa on March 3, and Ebad Mobarak Al Shabwani and Ja'afar Mohammad Jaber Al Shabwani on March 10.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/03/us_drones_kill_local.php

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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike hits AQAP training camp in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, April 1, 2014

The US killed three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first drone strike in Yemen in nearly three weeks.

Today's strike targeted an AQAP training center in the Al Mahfad area of Abyan province, _Xinhua_ reported. The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers fired three missiles at "two huts and a site used as a training center," killing three fighters and wounding four more, some seriously.

AQAP fighters collected the wounded and drove them to Azzan in Shabwa province, according to _Barakish_. The site that was targeted was recently featured in an AQAP propaganda video.

The Al Mahfad area is a known stronghold for AQAP. In the spring of 2012, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012 [see _Threat Matrix_ report, AQAP regroups in Abyan province]. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in 2011.

AQAP remains entrenched in the Al Mahfad area despite several Yemeni military operations that attempted to dislodge the terror group. The US launched three drone strikes in the Al Mahfad area in 2013; one in May, one in June, and one in July.

Today's strike is the first in Yemen since March 12, when US drones killed a local AQAP commander and his bodyguard in the northern province of Al Jawf.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/04/us_drone_strike_kill_25.php

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/04/us_drone_strike_kill_25.php#ixzz2yXOnmpNj


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## TruthSeeker

*Drone strike in Yemen kills suspected al Qaeda militants*
By *Hakim Almasmari, Mohammed Jamjoom *and* Barbara Starr*, CNN
updated 3:51 PM EDT, Sat April 19, 2014




*Yemeni officials say al Qaeda operatives among the dead*

*Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)* -- A drone strike in Yemen on Saturday killed at least 10 suspected al Qaeda militants but also inadvertently resulted in the deaths of three civilian day laborers, a high-level Yemeni government official told CNN.

The strike targeted a pickup in al-Hazemiyah district of al-Bayda province, three Yemeni Defense Ministry sources said.The militants were heading to neighboring Shabwa province, a hotbed for al Qaeda, they said.

"The truck targeted carried 11 militants. The targeting came while they were in transit after leaving a training site. Ten were killed and one was injured," the government official said on the condition of anonymity.

A civilian truck carrying five day laborers was also hit in the strike, the official said. Three died and two were wounded.

A casualty toll released earlier by the three Yemen Defense Ministry officials was slightly higher, with 12 suspected militants and three civilians reportedly killed.

"The militants were on a coordinating mission, and we have had our eyes on them for quite a while now," a senior ministry official told CNN on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media.

*Operatives targeted*

A source from the region said the strike targeted three "well-known" al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives linked to a training camp in southern Yemen.

AQAP, considered the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate, has repeatedly been targeted by drone strikes.

None of those killed in the strike was believed to be among AQAP's senior leadership, the source said. The targets of the drone strike had been closely monitored for some time during their training camp activities, the source said.

The drone strike came on the heels of the recent emergence of a video showing a large gathering of al Qaeda members in Yemen. There is no indication -- at this point -- that this strike had anything to do with the video, made last month and aired by CNN earlier this week.

"The strike today had nothing to do with the tape showing the gathering of AQAP," the government official said. "This operation was in the making for some time, as AQAP has stepped up its attacks against military targets and government officials in Bayda."

Salem al-Kashm was driving behind the civilian pickup driven by a friend when he said the strikes occurred.

"Minutes after the first attack, a second attack took place, killing three of my friends," he said.

"The drone then kept going in circles after the attack to ensure that none of the militants were able to escape."

A Defense Ministry official said, "It's unfortunate the civilians were there in the wrong time."

Drone strike in Yemen kills suspected al Qaeda militants - CNN.com


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## TruthSeeker

*Suspected drone strikes target al Qaeda in Yemen*
From *Mohammed Jamjoom,* CNN
updated 9:01 PM EDT, Sun April 20, 2014




http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/20/world/meast/yemen-drone-strike/#
*Second deadly air strike in Yemen*
had gathered recently to hear from Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the head of the terrorist network's Yemeni branch and the global organization's "crown prince," the official said.

"It's too early to tell how many militants were killed, but the number is at least a dozen," the official said. The targets included "foreign nationals," the official said, but he provided no details of what their nationalities were. Nor was it clear whether any high-value targets were among the dead and wounded, he said.

Yemen's state news agency SABA said three strikes targeted an al Qaeda training camp in the village of Wadi al Khila, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of the capital Sanaa. The fighters were "preparing to launch attacks against Yemeni and foreign interests in the area," according to a statement from the country's Supreme Security Committee.

"These strikes destroyed the training facility completely and killed both Yemeni and foreign members," it said.

The official said Sunday's raid was a joint U.S.-Yemeni operation. He would not confirm whether drones were used in the attack, but the United States is the only country known to have conducted drone strikes in Yemen -- and as a rule, U.S. officials don't comment on those strikes.

But the official said the area is so rugged and mountainous that Yemeni troops would have faced heavy losses in any ground assault. Al Qaeda operatives had fled to the area after a 2012 push by government troops, backed by the United States, he said.

Suspected drone strikes target al Qaeda in Yemen - CNN.com


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## TruthSeeker

*Yemen Strikes Target Qaeda Camps*
By REUTERS, APRIL 20, 2014

ADEN, Yemen — Airstrikes in southern Yemen on Sunday killed about 25 people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, local tribal representatives said, in the second operation of its kind within two days.

Yemen’s Defense Ministry said that Sunday’s strikes were in a remote mountainous region of the south. The ministry’s website quoted an official on the High Security Committee as saying that the strikes were carried out because of information that “terrorist elements were planning to target vital civilian and military installations.”

Similar wording was used in the announcement about Saturday’s strike.

Local tribal representatives said that about 25 bodies had been transferred to nearby towns from the sites of Sunday’s attacks. They said at least three separate strikes had taken place after dawn prayers, all targeting Qaeda camps. One official said the militants targeted were among the “leading and dangerous” elements of Al Qaeda and were of different nationalities.

Witnesses said they had seen Qaeda militants dragging bodies and some wounded people out of the area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/world/middleeast/yemen-strikes-target-qaeda-camps.html


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## TruthSeeker

*US targets AQAP master bomb maker in 2 strikes in Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, April 21, 2014

The US targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's top bomb maker in one of two strikes that took place in Yemen over the past two days. Unnamed Yemeni officials have speculated that Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri, who has built innovative bombs for the Yemeni terror group, may have been killed, but the reports are unconfirmed.

The strike that targeted Asiri took place after midnight last night on a highway between the districts of Markhah and Bayhan in Shabwa province, according to _Barakish_. The unmanned Predators or Reapers targeted a car as it traveled on the highway, and killed four AQAP fighters.

Asiri is reported to be among them, but his death has not been confirmed by AQAP or Yemeni officials. Initial reports suggest that the helicopters picked up four bodies, presumably to identify them. Although Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi sent a message of "thanks, praise, and appreciation" to the Yemeni antiterrorism unit for carrying out the strike, eyewitnesses confirmed that US drones targeted and fired on the AQAP vehicle.

US intelligence officials contacted by _The Long War Journal_ said that Asiri is at the top of the list of the most dangerous AQAP leaders and is actively being targeted. Asiri is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and was behind the failed Christmas Day 2009 airliner attack as well as the design for an underwear bomb that is nearly undetectable and was to be detonated on an airliner. Asiri has said that he has trained other operatives in AQAP to build bombs.

*Drones target AQAP training camp in the Mahfad area*

In the other strike, which took place yesterday, US drones struck an AQAP training camp in the Mahfad area of Abyan province. Reports in the Arabic press claim that more than 30 AQAP militants were killed in the strike targeting a training camp hidden in the mountainous areas between Shabwa and Abyan provinces. A source in Yemen's Security Council said the strike was carried out after Yemeni intelligence received information regarding the presence of AQAP operatives at the training camp who were actively planning to attack vital military and civilian installations.

The same Yemeni source said that AQAP operatives from various nationalities were killed in the drone strike. Local eyewitnesses said that they noticed a big gathering of suspected AQAP militants in the area of the camp . They also claimed that following the strike AQAP militants hastily collected the bodies of those killed.

Reports in the Arabic media also describe a Yemeni air force bombardment of the camp that lasted for a few hours after the drone strike.

In related news, in the evening before the strike, the Yemeni Defense Ministry announced that its forces had arrested 10 AQAP militants in Shabwa. The official statement said the 10 militants were headed to the training camp that was targeted in Mahfad.

The US also hit AQAP training camps in the Mahfad area on April 1.

The Al Mahfad area is a known stronghold for AQAP. In the spring of 2012, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and leaders regrouped in the Al Mahfad area after being driven from cities such as Zinjibar, Jaar, Lawdar, and Shaqra during a Yemeni military offensive that began in the spring of 2012 [see _Threat Matrix_ report, AQAP regroups in Abyan province]. AQAP controlled the cities in Abyan, as well as other cities and towns in neighboring Shabwa province, after launching its own offensive in 2011.

AQAP remains entrenched in the Al Mahfad area despite several Yemeni military operations that attempted to dislodge the terror group. The US launched three drone strikes in the Al Mahfad area in 2013; one in May, one in June, and one in July.

*New details emerge on April 19 strike*

The US has launched three strikes in Yemen over the weekend. In the previous strike, on April 19 in the province of Baydah, 15 AQAP fighters and five civilians are reported to have been killed when the drones hit a truck as it traveled on a road linking Souma'a district to Baydah City, the provincial capital.

Local media reported that the targeted vehicle was carrying a large amount of dynamite and that the strike killed all of the fighters onboard. Reports also confirmed the deaths of at least three civilians who were riding in an adjacent vehicle at the time of the strike.

A military source told the Arabic media that prominent leaders in AQAP had been killed in the strike, such as Abu Osama Al Hasni, Akram al Hafza, Seif Mohammad Seif Abd al Rahman al Sakhra, Ali Saleh al Khabani, and Adham Ali Mohsen. AQAP has not confirmed the deaths of any senior leaders.

In related news, residents of Azzan district in neighboring Shabwa province told reporters that "elements of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have reappeared in the city." They also claimed that an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula publication had been distributed warning local tribesmen and residents of Azzan against joining the Popular Committees.

*Background on US strikes in Yemen*

The US has launched 11 strikes in Yemen so far this year. Four of those strikes took place this month, four of took place in March, and three in January.

The pace of the drone strikes in Yemen decreased last year from the previous year (26 in 2013 versus 41 in 2012). The reduction in the number of strikes coincided with a speech by President Barack Obama at the National Defense University in May 2013. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

The number of strikes might have been much lower in 2013 were it not for an al Qaeda plot emanating from Yemen that was uncovered by US officials in late July. The plot led the US to close down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot involved AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi, who now also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

Between July 27, after the plot was disclosed, and Aug. 10, the US launched nine strikes in Yemen; no drone strikes were reported for seven weeks prior to July 27. The burst in attacks was intended to disrupt the plot and take out AQAP's top leadership cadre and senior operatives. The US killed Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir for Baydah province, during that time period.

AQAP and al Qaeda still seek to conduct attacks against the US. In a recent AQAP video featuring Nasir al Wuhayshi, who is both the emir of AQAP and al Qaeda's overall general manager, he said America remains a target.

"O brothers, the Crusader enemy is still shuffling his papers, so we must remember that we are always fighting the biggest enemy, the leaders of disbelief, and we have to overthrow those leaders, we have to remove the Cross, and the carrier of the Cross is America," Wuhayshi said.

Wuhayshi made the statement in the open to a gathering of more than 100 people.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/04/us_targets_aqap_mast.php#ixzz2zXUCCKI8


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## TruthSeeker

*Yemen says strikes on al-Qaida base kill 55*

Yemeni forces, reportedly backed by U.S. drone strikes, hit al-Qaida militants for a second straight day Monday in what Yemen officials said was an assault on a major base of the terror group hidden in the remote southern mountains.

By AHMED AL-HAJ, The Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni forces, reportedly backed by U.S. drone strikes, hit al-Qaida militants for a second straight day Monday in what Yemen officials said was an assault on a major base of the terror group hidden in the remote southern mountains.

The government said 55 militants were killed.

The sprawling base was a rare instance of a permanent infrastructure set up by al-Qaida’s branch in the country, Yemeni security officials said.

Built over the past months, it includes a training ground, storehouses for weapons and food and vehicles used by the group to launch attacks, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media.

The assault appeared to be a significant escalation in the U.S. and Yemeni campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group’s powerful branch in the southern Arabian nation.

The United States has been striking al-Qaida positions in the country heavily with drone strokes the past two years, trying to cripple the group after it was driven out of several cities it took over in 2011.

But the group has proved highly resilient, spreading around the country and working from mountain areas.

In a show of the group’s boldness, a video recently posted on Islamic militant websites showed the group’s leader Nasser al-Wahishi meeting openly with a gathering of dozens of militants in the southern province of Abyan.

The base is in a remote mountain valley called Wadi al-Khayala in the rugged Mahfad region at the border between Abyan, and the neighboring provinces of Shabwa, and al-Bayda.

The first strikes came Sunday in an assault a high-level government security committee said was an attack on training grounds for the group.

Yemeni Interior Ministry said it lasted for several hours. Yemeni officials and tribal leaders said new strikes, believed to include U.S. drone hits, came Monday. Another airstrike Saturday in al-Bayda killed at least nine militants.

The ministry said in a statement Monday that the strikes the day before had killed at least 55 militants, including three prominent figures.

It identified the three as Mohammed Salem Abed Rabbo al-Mashibi, Fawaz Hussein al-Mahrak, Saleh Said Mahrak. It said identification of the dead was continuing, and that non-Yemeni Arab fighters were among those killed.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said he could not comment on any specific actions.

Yemen says strikes on al-Qaida base kill 55 | Nation & World | The Seattle Times


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## TruthSeeker

*Did Yemen, U.S. kill al Qaeda's chief bomb maker?*
By *Mohammed Jamjoom*, *Barbara Starr *and* Holly Yan*, CNN
updated 8:09 AM EDT, Wed April 23, 2014




http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/world/meast/yemen-terror-operation/#
*U.S. aids Yemeni counterterror mission*
 2009 underwear bomb plot and printer bombs dispatched to the United States in 2010 -- almost worked.

He even sacrificed his younger brother, a suicide bomber, in a failed attempt to kill Saudi Arabia's head of counterterrorism in 2009.

Al-Asiri constructed a bomb like none al Qaeda had produced before: a device designed to be inserted into the rectum of a suicide bomber containing around 100 grams of PETN, a difficult-to-detect white powdery explosive.

In the end, only his younger brother was killed.

A recently released video showed about 100 suspected al Qaeda members meeting at a training camp in Yemen.

In the middle of the video, the man known as al Qaeda's crown prince, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appears brazenly out in the open, greeting followers in Yemen.

Al-Wuhayshi is the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of AQAP.

In a speech to the group, al-Wuhayshi makes it clear that he's going after the United States, saying: "We must eliminate the cross. ... The bearer of the cross is America!"

Retired U.S. Gen. Richard Myers said the video raised serious concerns.

"If that's true, then you have to go after them," Myers told CNN's "The Situation Room." "I don't think that's sufficient in the end to defeat al Qaeda, but I think it's important that we go after them in this case."

A U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said no Americans took part in combat on the ground, but U.S. forces did wear night vision gear and flew Yemeni forces to a remote, mountainous spot in southern Yemen.

The Yemeni helicopters that the U.S. personnel flew were Russian-made, which helped to minimize the U.S. footprint during the operation.

And CIA drones are suspected to have targeted al Qaeda fighters, weapons locations and a training camp.

Pentagon spokesman Adm. John Kirby declined to detail the U.S. involvement in the latest anti-terror operation, though he did highlight its partnership with Yemen.

"We continue to work with the Yemeni government and the Yemeni armed forces to help them improve their counterterrorism capabilities inside the country," Kirby said. "That work continues, and it will continue."

Did Yemen, U.S. kill al Qaeda's chief bomb maker? - CNN.com


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP notes death of local leader in drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 3, 2014

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a statement from a local leader in southern Yemen who was killed in a US drone strike two weeks ago.

The statement by Ali bin Lakraa' al Kazimi, who is described as "the former leader of its cell" in the Al Mahfad district in Abyan province, was released by "Ansar al Sharia News" yesterday and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. Ansar al Sharia is AQAP's political front in Yemen.

Kazimi was killed in a US drone strike that targeted an AQAP training camp in Al Mahfad on April 20. More than 30 AQAP fighters are said to have been killed in the drone strike and accompanying Yemeni airstrikes.

A Yemeni official told _The Long War Journal_ that the April 20 airstrikes in Al Mahfad were intended to "destroy the [AQAP] base and sites in Al Mahfad, deter their recruiting and training capability," and kill "KSA [Saudi] fighters who returned from Syria." The Yemeni official said that "dozens [of Saudis have] infiltrated the border and joined AQAP."

In Kazimi's posthumous statement, he railed against the "Americanized Yemeni army, which wants to insult and humiliate the tribes in accordance with the guidelines of the Americans," according to the SITE translation.

This is a common argument made by AQAP in an effort to turn Yemeni tribesmen and soldiers against the government. For instance, in a video released by AQAP in October 2013 featuring suicide attacks, a scene was included in which an AQAP officer lectures captured Yemeni soldiers.

"Do you know that you and the Americans are in the same trench? The [American] spying drones are in the sky and you are on the ground," an AQAP leader tells the group of Yemeni soldiers in the video.

"What is the difference between you and the Americans? Haven't you thought about this issue? Haven't you considered yourselves and the Americans in one front? When Americans bombard our brothers with unmanned drones, who collect their bodies? It's you the soldiers. You take their bodies. You and the Americans are in one front," the AQAP leader chides the Yemeni soldiers.

Kazimi offered "condolences" to the families of the Ba Kazim tribe who have been killed in US drone strikes, and called on "all the free sons of the Ba Kazim tribe to stand in line alongside their mujahideen brothers."

The Yemeni military has recently launched a new offensive against AQAP in southern and central Yemen. Military forces have massed in Abyan and Shabwa provinces in the south, and in the central province of Baydah. All three provinces are known havens for AQAP. [See _LWJ_ report, Yemen expands southern offensive against AQAP.]



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/aqap_notes_death_of.php#ixzz30hwbzdCR


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## boomslang

Transformers said:


> » U.S. Government Backs Libyan Al-Qaeda While Hyping Terror Attacks Inside U.S. Alex Jones&#039; Infowars: There&#039;s a war on for your mind!
> 
> Jihadis who fought U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan now enjoy American support in Libya | Byron York | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner
> 
> Washington may arm Al-Qaeda-linked Libyan rebels &mdash; RT
> 
> UN, Obama Fighting Alongside Al-Qaeda in Libya



Alex Jones ? Info Wars ? RT ? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!


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## jarves

Didnt knew Yemen is also messed up.


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## TruthSeeker

*Military: 43 Militants Killed in Yemen Campaign*

SANAA, Yemen May 3, 2014 (AP)
By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press

Fighting and airstrikes in an al-Qaida stronghold in southern Yemen killed six suspected militants and four soldiers Sunday, the military said, part of an ongoing military campaign that killed another 37 fighters overnight.

The government's U.S.-backed campaign in Shabwa province against al-Qaida militants is part of a rolling campaign against the group's hideouts in Yemen.

Washington considers Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula the most active branch of the group in the world, and has assisted the government with logistics, training and drone attacks. The militants have fought back, targeting government buildings and security forces.

On Sunday, the military said troops backed by air support stormed a hideout of the group in Naqba hills in Shabwa, an operation that killed six suspected militants and four soldiers. The statement said soldiers arrested four wounded militants and destroyed four of their vehicles.

Earlier Sunday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement that airstrikes and clashes killed 37 suspected al-Qaida fighters overnight in the nearby town of Meyfaa. Intermittent violence persists in the area and soldiers remain deployed there. Some families have fled the town for the provincial capital.

Also in Shabwa, security officials said the army exploded land mines in several areas around Meyfaa that they said al-Qaida fighters had laid.

Government officials also said that phone service was cut in some areas in the provinces of Shabwa and Abyan since Sunday morning during the campaign.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Military: 43 Militants Killed in Yemen Campaign - ABC News


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## TruthSeeker

*Saudis, Chechens, Afghans killed during recent fighting in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 5, 2014

The Yemeni military killed at least 37 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters during recent operations in the southern province of Shabwa. Among those killed were fighters from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Russia, and Somalia, Yemeni officials said.

The fighting in the Maifa district of Shabwa, which is part of a wide Yemeni military offensive to root out AQAP strongholds in the southern provinces, took place over the weekend.

"Most of those militants are from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Somali, [the Russian Republic of] Chechnya and other countries," a Yemeni official told SABA, the state-run Yemen News Agency.

Five of the Saudis who were killed in the fighting were identified as Ubadah al Sharori, Abdulrahman al Hutti, Abu Ubaidah Malek al Makki, Hussien al Budwi, and Bin Hayzoun, according to 26 September, a newspaper run by Yemen's Defense Ministry.

A Yemeni official told _The Long War Journal_ that one fighter from Chechnya was identified as Abu Muslim al Shishani. An Afghan whose name has not been disclosed is said to have been "dressed up like he was in Kandahar," the Yemeni official said.

Since the launch of its offensive in the south early last week, the Yemeni government has stressed that foreigners are driving AQAP's jihadist insurgency. Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi highlighted this when he claimed that more than 70 percent of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is made up of foreigners.

But a senior Yemeni official told _The Long War Journal _that President Hadi's estimate of the number of foreign fighters in AQAP is far too high. The official said that although about 50 percent of AQAP's leadership cadre is believed to be non-Yemeni, the number of non-Yemeni foot soldiers is thought to be about 25 percent. Meanwhile, only 10 percent of Ansar al Sharia, AQAP's local political front, is thought to be non-Yemeni.

But the still relatively high number of foreigners in AQAP's leadership cadre and the rank and file should not be surprising as AQAP, which was formed in January 2009, resulted from the merger of al Qaeda's Saudi and Yemeni branches.

The presence of fighters from Somalia should come as no surprise as AQAP and Shabaab, al Qaeda's official branch in Somalia and East Africa, have provided support and manpower for each other's operations for years.

And the presence of fighters from far-flung jihadist battlefields such as Afghanistan and the Caucasus also is to be expected. Fighters from these theaters are currently flooding the Syrian battlefield and have been spotted in remote areas of Africa such as Mali as well.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/saudis_chechens_afgh.php#ixzz30s6EPyMi


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## TruthSeeker

*Pakistani, Algerian, French al Qaeda fighters killed or captured during Yemeni operation*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, May 10, 2014

Yemeni security services continue to note the death or capture of foreign fighters during the ongoing military offensive in the south. The Yemeni Ministry of Defense has reported that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders and fighters from Pakistan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Russia were killed, and two operatives from France were captured over the past several days.

A Pakistani known as Al Nakhaie and Mikassa, who was described as a "local terrorist chief," and a Saudi known as Abu Dujana, were killed in Shabwa, the Ministry of Defense said, according to _Al Shorfa_.

An Algerian known as Abu Ayoub al Jazaeri who served as "a local al Qaeda terrorist group leader" in Abyan province was found dead by Yemeni military forces in Wadi Dayqa in Abyan.

An AQAP leader from the Caucasus known as Taymour al Dagestani is also reported to have been killed during recent fighting in Shabwa. Dagestani was described as an explosives expert and his death was hailed as a major blow to the terrorist organization.

Additionally, two Frenchmen, who were identified as Mourad Abdulla Abad and Taha al Issawi, were captured at an airport in Shabwa on May 8 as they attempted to leave the country. Arabic news outlets described the two French nationals of Tunisian descent as having been involved in al Qaeda cells in Hadramout province.

The Yemeni government has noted that several foreign fighters, including Saudis, Chechens, Afghans, and Somalis have been killed during military operations in Abyan and Shabwa provinces that began on April 29. Yemen's president has claimed that more than 70 percent of AQAP's leaders and fighters are foreign; this estimate is believed to be extremely high, however. [See _LWJ_ report, Saudis, Chechens, Afghans killed during recent fighting in southern Yemen.]

The Yemeni military is reporting success during its operation to reclaim AQAP strongholds in the south. The military said it has retaken Azzan and the Al Maifa district in Shabwa as well as the Al Mahfad district in Abyan province. Al Mahfad has served as an AQAP stronghold and the location of a training center since mid-2012.

AQAP has responded by stepping up attacks in central Yemen as well as in the capital of Sana'a. In the central province of Baydah, AQAP fighters killed six Yemeni soldiers in an ambush at a checkpoint.

In the capital, four Yemeni soldiers and three AQAP fighters were killed in clashes near the Ministry of Defense. The instability has forced the US to temporarily shut down the embassy's consular services.

Additionally, in Shabwa, three Yemeni soldiers are reported to have been killed after AQAP fighters ambushed a convoy that was transferring Yemen's defense minister, who was unhurt.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/pakistani_algerian_f.php#ixzz31ShtWdxb


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 6 AQAP fighters in central Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 12, 2014

The US killed six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first drone strike reported in Yemen in more than three weeks.

Today's strike, which took place in the Wadi Abida district in the central province of Marib, targeted a vehicle as it was driving in the village of Husoun al-Jalal, according to _The Associated Press_. Yemeni officials are attempting to identify the suspected AQAP fighters.

The exact target of the strike has not been disclosed. No AQAP leaders of operatives are reported to have been killed at this time. AQAP has not released an official statement on the strike.

The Wadi Abida of Marib province is a known haven for AQAP in central Yemen. The US has conducted five other drone strikes in Wadi Abida since October 2012. Two of those strikes took place this year, two occurred in 2012, and one was conducted in 2012. Twenty-eight AQAP fighters and two civilians are reported to have been killed in the six strikes, according to data compiled by _The Long War Journal_.

Today's strike took place as the Yemeni military has been on the offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in its southern strongholds of Abyan and Shabwa provinces.

The Yemeni military is reporting success during its operation to reclaim AQAP strongholds in the south. The military said it has retaken Azzan and the Al Maifa district in Shabwa as well as the Al Mahfad district in Abyan province. Al Mahfad has served as an AQAP stronghold and the location of a training center since mid-2012.

A Yemeni military official is claiming that security forces have killed and wounded hundreds of AQAP fighters and dozens of leaders during operations in the south since April 29.


Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/us_drone_strike_kill_27.php#ixzz31Wu8AUxt


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP military official killed in 2013 drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO, May 15, 2014

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a martyrdom statement for a military commander who was killed in one of several US drone strikes launched last summer following the emergence of a threat of attacks on US diplomatic facilities.

AQAP released the biography of Sarhan Abdullah Ali al Nasi, also known as Khishiman, on May 12 on its Twitter feed, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the statement.

Khishiman was one of seven people killed in the Aug. 7, 2013 drone strike that took place in the Markha area of Shabwa province. Two vehicles were targeted in the strike. [See_ LWJ_ report, US strikes twice in Yemen, kills 11 AQAP operatives in drone attacks.]

Khishiman was killed during a spate of strikes that coincided with a terror warning by the US that led to the closure of diplomatic facilities in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia in July and August 2013. US officials said they had intercepted communications between al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and Nasir al Wuhayshi, AQAP's leader and al Qaeda's general manager, that indicated a major plot was underway.

Khishiman's path to jihad began sometime before 2007, when he was arrested by the Yemeni government for attempting to travel to Iraq to fight US and international forces, and imprisoned at a jail in Sana'a. While in prison, "he met Sheikh Anwar al Awlaki," the American AQAP ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander who also was later killed in a US drone strike. Awlaki spoke to Khsihiman about "project of jihad" while in jail, and clearly recruited him to join al Qaeda. Awlaki was imprisoned for 18 months between 2006 and 2007 for his involvement in a plot to kidnap the US military attache in Sana'a.

After spending nine months in prison, Khishiman "joined the mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula," and served as a driver. He later "joined the camps of the mujahideen in Shabwa," where he "participated in a number of specialized courses, including the course of execution in cities and special operations."

Khishiman fought with AQAP during its campaign in 2011 to take control of Abyan province, and was "wounded during the storming of the 25th Mechanized Brigade." That Yemeni brigade was based in Zinjibar, and AQAP laid siege to the unit's base before taking full control of the city.

Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander and cofounder of the group who is on the US' list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, appointed Khishiman to serve on the group's "Military Committee." That committee is responsible for coordinating AQAP military operations throughout the country.

While on the Military Committee, Khishiman "engaged in special courses in arts of organizational and military administration." Additionally, he served as AQAP's emir for the northern Yemeni provinces of Al Jawf and Saada.


Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/aqap_military_offici.php##ixzz31ns1Pfdf


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## TruthSeeker

*AQAP eulogizes commander killed in April drone strike*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, May 27, 2014

A well-known Yemeni journalist with connections to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Abdul Razzaq al Jamal, today posted a eulogy issued by the terrorist group to his Facebook page honoring fallen commander Ali bin Lakraa' al Kazimi al Awlaki. The eulogy claimed that Awlaki was injured "during the American bombardment of the Mahfad area in Abyan in late Jumadi al Akhir," referring to the US drone strikes targeting the Mahfad district on April 20.

The Yemeni media first reported the death of Awlaki, also known as Abu Maryam, in Mahfad on May 1.

The eulogy specified that during the time of the American drone strikes in late April, Awlaki was in Mahfad accompanied by "a group of his tribesmen" in order to "rescue their Muslim brothers who subjected to an American strike at that time." After his injury, Awlaki was cared for by his AQAP "brothers" but eventually succumbed to his wounds. Shortly before his death, Awlaki apparently wrote a letter to his tribe, encouraging them to continue along the path of jihad and in support of sharia, or Islamic law.

Awlaki is described in the AQAP statement as a "pearl of his people" who worked in support of the weak, oppressed, and orphaned, and who also fought as a "mujahid" against "the enemies of Allah."

The statement also calls the Awlaki tribe, a powerful clan in southern Yemen that has spawned a number of AQAP militants, "honorable" and lists other mujaheddin who have emerged from its ranks. This list includes Anwar al Awlaki, a US cleric and AQAP ideologue and operational commander who was killed in a US drone strike in 2011, as well as Fahd al Quso al Awlaki, who was killed by the US in another drone strike in 2012. Quso was wanted by the US for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the attempt to detonate an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

The eulogy ends with a message to the "Crusader enemies," warning them that AQAP will be unrelenting in Yemen despite fierce American and Yemeni efforts. "Our ancestors fought you till they restored from you what you took from the country," it concludes. "We will not relent nor resign till we drive out the Cross and liberate the country, restore sharia to rule and Islam to prevail, and justice to spread."

Awlaki's death highlights a continuing trend of the US targeting local AQAP commanders and fighters who are battling against the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by _The Long War Journal_ in the spring of 2012 [see _LWJ_ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012].

This contradicts a US Department of Justice white paper that claimed that the drone program will target only those AQAP operatives who "present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/aqap_awlaki_commande.php##ixzz32yDbv3yu


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill local AQAP commander, 2 fighters*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKIJune 5, 2014

The US killed three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, including a local commander, in the first recorded drone strike in more than three weeks.

The strike, which took place last evening in the Maghifar area of the Wadi Abida district in Yemen's central province of Marib, targeted a pickup truck, according to local reports. Yemeni tribal leaders said that Jafar al Shabwani, a local AQAP commander from the Al Shabwan tribe of Wadi Abida, and two of his fighters were killed in the airstrike.

AQAP has not released an official statement on the strike or a martyrdom statement for al Shabwani.

Wadi Abida has long been considered an AQAP stronghold and recruiting base in Marib, and local tribes regularly provide AQAP militants with protection and cover.

The US has conducted six other drone strikes in Wadi Abida since October 2012. Three of those strikes took place this year, two occurred in 2012, and one was conducted in 2012. Thirty-one AQAP fighters and two civilians are reported to have been killed in the six strikes, according to data compiled by _The Long War Journal_.

The Wadi Abida district was also the location of the last recorded drone strike in Yemen. On May 12, the remotely piloted Reapers or Predators targeted a vehicle as it was driving in the village of Husoun al-Jalal. Six AQAP fighters are thought to have been killed in the attack.

Last night's strike highlights a continuing trend of the US targeting local AQAP commanders and fighters who are waging a local insurgency against the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by _The Long War Journal_ in the spring of 2012 [see _LWJ_ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012].

This contradicts a US Department of Justice white paper that claimed the drone program will target only those AQAP operatives who "present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/us_drones_kill_local_1.php##ixzz33mkjivfm


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## Falcon29

OP, so you're busy justifying more violence that will kill hundreds if not thousands of people while also make militants more popular? 

Why aren't you mentioning any civilian casualties? You guys say you believe in God but treat this people as if they aren't humans and encourage mass murder against populations in that region.

That will only cause Islamists to increase(Which is a good thing for the people) and eventually this policy will backfire. 

None of that matters to you though, as long as they can't fight back at all it's okay to keep killing defenseless people.


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## TruthSeeker

Hazzy997 said:


> Why aren't you mentioning any civilian casualties?



Civilian casualties, if there are any, are the responsibility of AQAP. E-mail them and ask them to mention them for you, if you really care.

Reactions: Like Like:
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## Falcon29

TruthSeeker said:


> Civilian casualties, if there are any, are the responsibility of AQAP. E-mail them and ask them to mention them for you, if you really care.



Why should any rebels in Yemen be targeted in the first place? Can you give us adequate reasons? The responsibility lies solely on the entity inflicting death and destruction on the people of Yemen. 

In the same that TTP inflicts death and destruction on the civilians of Pakistan. Both are cases of terrorism and mass murder. 

I care about all people who have to deal with this barbaric violence. You on the other hand do nothing to make the world a better place to live in. 

If bombs were falling on your city, only then would you consider equal treatment to the rest of the world. Since you're living in luxury it doesn't matter to you. So you're evil.


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## TruthSeeker

@Hazzy997 

Why don't you ask your Boko Haram friends to mention their civilian causalities?

*Boko Haram rampages unchecked in the Nigerian north*

By LAURA GROSSMAN, June 5, 2014

This week Boko Haram militants have continued their insurgency across northern Nigeria with little challenge from Nigerian authorities.

Between June 2 and June 3, the group conducted a number of attacks, killing over 200 civilians in several villages in northeastern Nigeria. In one instance, Boko Haram members dressed as soldiers told townspeople that they had come to protect residents. After gathering them in the town center, the militants began shouting "Allahu akbar" and opened fire, killing dozens. Some villagers who attempted to flee were shot and killed by gunmen lurking outside the village.

The villages attacked included Danjara, Agapalwa, and Antagara in the Gwoza local government district. The emir of Gwoza was shot and killed last week by Boko Haram militants as he rode in a convoy with other community leaders.

Another report indicated that a fourth town, Goshe, was also hit by Boko Haram, where at least 100 people were killed. One resident said: "They laid siege on the village and opened fire with Kalashnikovs and fired RPGs, burning the entire village with its 300 homes and a few mosques."

The deceptive tactic of dressing as Nigerian soldiers offering protection appears to have become part of Boko Haram's modus operandi. Wearing military uniforms, Boko Haram militants kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in April. One student, who managed to escape after the kidnapping, commented that "[w]hen we saw these gunmen, we thought they were soldiers, they told all of us to come and walk to the gates, we followed their instructions."

On June 4, militants committed a particularly nasty attack on Barderi, a village near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Telling villagers that they were going to preach to them, the militants opened fire as they gathered, killing at least 45 civilians.

Early in the morning today, militants fought with Nigerian security forces for three hours in Madagali in Adamawa state in northeastern Nigeria, where the attackers burnt down several buildings, including a church, and killed two civilians.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/boko_haram_continues.php##ixzz33rOxX5jP


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## Falcon29

TruthSeeker said:


> @Hazzy997
> 
> Why don't you ask your Boko Haram friends to mention their civilian causalities?
> 
> *Boko Haram rampages unchecked in the Nigerian north*
> 
> By LAURA GROSSMAN, June 5, 2014
> 
> This week Boko Haram militants have continued their insurgency across northern Nigeria with little challenge from Nigerian authorities.
> 
> Between June 2 and June 3, the group conducted a number of attacks, killing over 200 civilians in several villages in northeastern Nigeria. In one instance, Boko Haram members dressed as soldiers told townspeople that they had come to protect residents. After gathering them in the town center, the militants began shouting "Allahu akbar" and opened fire, killing dozens. Some villagers who attempted to flee were shot and killed by gunmen lurking outside the village.
> 
> The villages attacked included Danjara, Agapalwa, and Antagara in the Gwoza local government district. The emir of Gwoza was shot and killed last week by Boko Haram militants as he rode in a convoy with other community leaders.
> 
> Another report indicated that a fourth town, Goshe, was also hit by Boko Haram, where at least 100 people were killed. One resident said: "They laid siege on the village and opened fire with Kalashnikovs and fired RPGs, burning the entire village with its 300 homes and a few mosques."
> 
> The deceptive tactic of dressing as Nigerian soldiers offering protection appears to have become part of Boko Haram's modus operandi. Wearing military uniforms, Boko Haram militants kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in April. One student, who managed to escape after the kidnapping, commented that "[w]hen we saw these gunmen, we thought they were soldiers, they told all of us to come and walk to the gates, we followed their instructions."
> 
> On June 4, militants committed a particularly nasty attack on Barderi, a village near Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Telling villagers that they were going to preach to them, the militants opened fire as they gathered, killing at least 45 civilians.
> 
> Early in the morning today, militants fought with Nigerian security forces for three hours in Madagali in Adamawa state in northeastern Nigeria, where the attackers burnt down several buildings, including a church, and killed two civilians.
> 
> Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/boko_haram_continues.php##ixzz33rOxX5jP



You use longwarjournal? Except when they post anti-israeli content of course. Nobody supports Boko haram here, on the other hand you support violence unrelated to them. All members here have condemned this group. No Christians have condemned Christian on Muslim violence in it's most barbaric form.

This number is a lie as well, it was around 43. Of course that won't prevent 'Grossman' from posting the facts.


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill AQAP commander, 4 fighters in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, June 14, 2014

The US killed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander and four fighters in the second recorded drone strike in southern Yemen this month.

Earlier today, the remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle "in a mountainous area" in al Saeed in Shabwa province, according to _The Associated Press_. US drone strikes in Yemen routinely target AQAP leaders and fighters as they travel in vehicles.

Yemeni officials told the news agency that an AQAP commander known as Musaad al Habashi was among five AQAP members riding in the vehicle when it was struck by missiles. AQAP has not released an official statement on the strike or a martyrdom statement for al Habashi, whose role in AQAP is unclear.

Elsewhere in Shabwa province, the Yemeni military claimed it killed four AQAP fighters who "were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Naqba area in [the] Hibban district," the state-run Yemen News Agency (SABA) reported. Yemeni forces also destroyed "a number of their cars and arms warehouses."

Shabwa has been a hotbed of AQAP activity. The terrorist group took control of several areas in Shabwa and neighboring Abyan over the past year.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/us_drones_kill_aqap_2.php##ixzz34iHDKtUQ


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 3 AQAP fighters in central Yemen*
By BILL ROGGIO, August 9, 2014

The US launched its first recorded drone strike in Yemen in nearly two months, killing three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the central province of Marib. The strike takes place as AQAP has been battling Yemeni forces for control of the eastern province of Hadramout.

The remotely piloted Reapers struck a compound in the Wadi Abida area today, a local official told _Reuters_. The names of the three suspected fighters were not disclosed. A "security official" confirmed that an airstrike took place in Marib and killed three people, but the official "did not specify if it was a US or Yemeni aircraft involved in the strike," _The Associated Press_reported.

The Wadi Abida of Marib province is a known haven for AQAP in central Yemen. The US has conducted six other drone strikes in Wadi Abida since October 2012. Three of those strikes took place this year, two occurred in 2013, and one was conducted in 2012. According to data compiled by _The Long War Journal_, a total of 31 AQAP fighters and two civilians are reported to have been killed in the seven strikes in Wadi Abida.

The last strike in Wadi Abida took place on June 4. A local commander known as Jafar al Shabwani and two fighters are said to have been killed.

*Fighting rages in Hadramout*

Today's drone strike in Marib takes place as Yemeni security forces and AQAP are battling for control over the eastern province of Hadramout.

Earlier this week, an unnamed Yemeni military official claimed that AQAP is in effective control of Hadramout province. "Local authorities in Hadramout are non-existent and Al Qaeda is running it," he said. A senior general later denied the report.

The Yemeni military said it killed 25 AQAP fighters on Aug. 6-7 while battling to protect the city of Seyoun in Hadramout province. The military also sent reinforcements to the town of Qatn in Hadramout after heavy fighting in the area.

AQAP responded by kidnapping and executing 14 soldiers who were traveling on a bus from Hadramout to Sana'a. AQAP also threatened to "punish" prosecutors and other legal officials in Hadramout who rule against the group.

The ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, Hadramout province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years. AQAP has regrouped in Hadramout and other provinces after losing control of major cities in Abyan and Shabwa to government forces starting in late spring 2012. In May 2013, the Yemeni government claimed it foiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in the Ghayl Bawazir area. In July, AQAP distributed leaflets in Seyoun that said the jihadist group is establishing an emirate in Hadramout and will impose sharia, or Islamic law.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/08/us_drone_strike_kill_30.php#ixzz39vl2VX3T


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone kills 3 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, August 17, 2014

The US killed three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an airstrike in a province in eastern Yemen where the terror group has been battling the government for control. The strike is the second by the US in Yemen in the past week.

"The three armed men were traveling in a vehicle along a desert stretch between Yemen and Saudi Arabia's border [in Hadramout province] when the drone shot two rockets at them. All three are dead," a local Yemeni official told _Reuters_.

No senior AQAP leaders or operatives are reported to have been killed in the drone strike. AQAP has not released a statement concerning the strike.

Yemeni officials, including President Hadi, have said in the past that only the US possessed the ability to strike at a moving vehicle inside Yemen.

In May 2013, the Yemeni government claimed it foiled a plot by AQAP to establish an Islamic emirate in Hadramout's Ghayl Bawazir area. In July of this year, AQAP distributed leaflets in Seyoun that said the jihadist group is establishing an emirate in Hadramout and will impose sharia, or Islamic law. Heavy fighting between the military and the government has been reported there in the past several months as AQAP seeks to hoist its flag over the province.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/08/us_drone_kills_3_aqa.php#ixzz3AhdvoXHG


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## invinciblesgunner

"suspected" is the dangerous word here lmao, how many innocents have these drones killed anyway? The war of terrorism which US started should be renamed to "How to create extremists" This war is a big failiure and the US has created more terrorists than they have killed.


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## TruthSeeker

*2 AQAP commanders reported killed in Shabwa drone strike*

By OREN ADAKISeptember 27, 2014




*Adel Hardaba, an AQAP leader reported killed yesterday. Source: Yemen Forum*.

Following the US drone strike that took place on Sept. 25, local reports from Shabwa province suggest that two prominent leaders in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have been killed. [See _LWJ_ report: US launches second US drone strike in Shabwa in 2 weeks.]

The two AQAP commanders thought killed in Thursday's strike were identified as Adel Hardaba and Muhader Ahmad Muhader by both Arabic press reports and Twitter accounts affiliated with AQAP. A formal AQAP statement regarding the deaths has yet to be released.

According to media reports, Adel Hardaba, who hails from Lahj, was an AQAP commander in the Lawdar region of Abyan in southern Yemen, located close to the border of Baydha province. Hardaba has a long history of fighting for AQAP in the Lawdar region. Reports from August 2010 claim that he was arrested following clashes between Islamist militants and Yemeni forces in Lawdar.

Hardaba was reportedly involved in intense fighting around the city of Lawdar in April 2012 during which AQAP briefly controlled the city before a Yemeni military push to dislodge the militants. Following his brief arrest by the Yemeni Popular Committees during the course of fighting for Lawdar in April 2012, Hardaba went into hiding and disappeared.

This is not the first report of Hardaba's death as a result of a drone strike. Local Yemeni media had reported that Hardaba was killed in a US drone strike on August 10, 2013.

The second AQAP member reported killed in yesterday's drone strike, Muhader Ahmad Muhader, is believed to hail from Lahj province's Tha'alab region and served as a local AQAP commander in Lahj. Local sources told the Yemeni news outlet _Aden al-Ghad_ that Muhader was "accused by the security authorities of being one of the most prominent leaders belonging to Ansar al Shariah that has carried out widespread assassination operations in Lahj that have included security officials and [private] citizens." Ansar al Shariah is AQAP's political front in Yemen.

Little is known about Muhader from the Arabic press, except that he was considered one of AQAP's "rehabilitated" members as recently as last year. In March 2013, Muhader met with the governor of Lahj province, Ahmad Abdullah al Majidi, who urged Muhader to start "a new, white page" in his life. At that meeting, Muhader reportedly ensured the governor that he would be trustworthy and would "be among those rehabilitated that will participate in pursuing and disseminating the principles of moderation and staying away from extremism and terrorism." The same report mentioned that Muhader was a member of AQAP's "advocacy committee."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/2_aqap_commanders_re.php#ixzz3EehKXLl6

*US drone strike kills 2 AQAP fighters in Al Jawf*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, September 27, 2014

Local officials in Yemen's northern province of Al Jawf told Arabic media outlets that a US drone strike yesterday evening killed two suspected members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The strike took place in the Khasaf region, east of the provincial capital of Hazm.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the drone strike targeted a vehicle with two AQAP fighters on board as they were traveling from Marib province. The eyewitnesses reported that both passengers were killed on site. The identities of the two fighters have yet to be confirmed.

Sources also claimed that three young children, said to be brothers, have been injured as a result of the strike. The brothers were reportedly wounded while in the vicinity of their homes, close to the location of the strike.

Al Jawf is a known haven for top al Qaeda leaders. US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf six other times since the beginning of 2010. The last strike in the province took place on March 12 and killed a local AQAP military commander known as Moajab bin Aziz, as well as his bodyguard.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/us_drone_strike_kill_31.php#ixzz3EehZLuPW


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## TruthSeeker

*3 AQAP fighters reported killed in US drone strike*
By BILL ROGGIO, October 24, 2014

The US reportedly killed three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters today in a province in central Yemen where the jihadist group is battling Shia Houthi rebels who have advanced southward after taking control of the capital of Sana'a last month.

The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers killed the three fighters in a strike in the Manasseh area near the city of Rada'a in Baydah province, _Reuters_ reported. The strike targeted Ansar al Sharia, AQAP's political front in Yemen. The US State Department described Ansar al Sharia as an "alias" of AQAP in its designation of the former group in 2012.

It is unclear if any senior al Qaeda or Ansar al Sharia leaders were killed in the US drone strike. AQAP has not announced the death of any of its senior leaders or operatives.

The Manasseh area in Baydah is a known haven for AQAP fighters and leaders. The US has launched three other airstrikes in Manasseh since late December 2012. The last such attack took place on Aug. 30, 2013. The US killed Kaid al Dhabab and two fighters in a strike on a vehicle in that airstrike. Kaid served as the group's emir for Baydah.

Today's strike is the first since Oct. 15. Four AQAP operatives, including Mahdi Badas, the group's emir for Shabwa, were reported to have been killed in a strike that targeted a vehicle in the southern province of Shabwa.

The US has launched four drone strikes in Yemen since Shia Houthi rebels, which are backed by Iran and are enemies of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, took control of the capital of Sana'a on Sept. 22. The Houthis have since advanced southward and taken control of the port city of Hodeidah and the central Yemeni city of Dhamar. The Houthi rebels also seized areas outside of Radaa in Baydah before halting their advance.

AQAP and the Houthis have since been battling outside of Radaa and elsewhere in Yemen. AQAP has positioned itself as the defenders of Sunnis in Yemen as the government and military have collapsed in the face of the Houthi advance.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/10/3_aqap_fighters_repo.php#ixzz3HMgNoTuR


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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 20 AQAP fighters in Yemen*
By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, November 4, 2014

The US reportedly killed up to 20 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters in a drone strike today in the central Yemeni province of Baydah. The strike took place in an area where the jihadist group has been battling Shiite Houthi rebels who have advanced southwards after taking control of Sana'a, the capital, in late September.

The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers attacked AQAP targets due east of the city of Radaa, the site of protracted fighting between AQAP and Houthi rebels who began advancing on the city on Oct. 15. Local media reports indicated that the drones targeted a number of vehicles in the area, including a truck carrying weapons and a four-car AQAP convoy.

According to tribal sources and eyewitnesses, 20 AQAP fighters were killed in the strike. Some Yemeni news sources identified two of the slain fighters as explosives experts Ayyash al Eid and Ahmad Jarallah a.k.a. Abu Saleh, both of whom may have been trained by AQAP master bombmaker Ibrahim al Asiri or one of his lieutenants. Other reports went so far as to suggest that up to 30 AQAP fighters have been killed by US drone strikes in several locations northeast of Radaa.

*Strike coincides with AQAP-Houthi fighting in Baydah*

The US drone strike occurred amid fierce clashes in the Radaa area between AQAP and Sunni tribesmen and Shiite Houthi rebels that began around 1:00 a.m. today and lasted till dawn. Local sources claimed that two AQAP-led attacks in Radaa city and the Jabal al Tha'alab region left up to 29 Houthi rebels dead. Arabic press reports indicated that the drone strike took place after AQAP withdrew from the area today at dawn.

Fighting resumed in Radaa this afternoon, most notably in the Dar al Najd, Subeira, and Qaa' Radaa districts of the city. Clashes erupted following a new series of attacks reportedly launched by AQAP targeting Houthi checkpoints in the area. Five more casualties were reported as a result of the renewed combat, which is currently centered around a mountain range northeast of Radaa.

Today's strike is the first since Oct. 24. Three AQAP operatives were reported killed in that strike, which targeted the Manasseh area near Radaa in Baydah province. These past two drone strikes have targeted AQAP fighters as they escalate terrorist operations throughout the country in an attempt to counter the Houthi advance.

The US has launched five drone strikes in Yemen since the Houthi rebel forces, which are backed by Iran and are outspoken enemies of AQAP, took control of the the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, on Sept. 22. The Houthis have since pushed southward and taken control of the port city of Hodeidah, the central Yemeni city of Dhamar, and the entirety of Ibb province. Significantly, AQAP has attacked the southwestern district of al Adayn in Ibb province and held it twice in defiance of the Houthi advance.

The US has carried out 22 strikes in Yemen so far this year. The US ramped up its air campaign in Yemen in 2009, and has conducted 105 air and cruise missile strikes in the country since the program was expanded. Prior to 2009, the US launched one airstrike, against al Qaeda in Yemen in 2002.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/us_drone_strike_kill_33.php#ixzz3IJJiykJE

Reactions: Like Like:
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## TruthSeeker

*US drone strike kills 7 terrorists in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO & OREN ADAKI, November 12, 2014

The US reportedly killed seven al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters in a drone strike early this morning in the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa. The strike took place in the Azzan region of the province, located about 80 kilometers from the coast and long considered an AQAP stronghold in the country.

The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers attacked the AQAP fighters as they were gathered "under a group of trees" in Azzan, according to tribal sources. Some Yemeni military sources reported that the strike targeted AQAP fighters as they were driving a small truck through Azzan. The Yemeni Ministry of Defense claimed that the seven terrorists killed in the operation were in the process of planning an attack in the area using a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), a tactic of choice by AQAP.

Local and tribal sources also suggested that two additional strikes took place during the night between Nov. 11 and Nov. 12 between the towns of Azzan and Mayfaa in Shabwa. However, no information regarding those alleged attacks is forthcoming.

While the exact target of the strike has not been disclosed, and it is unclear if any senior AQAP leaders or operatives were among those killed or targeted, it appears the US launched the attack in support of Yemeni military operations against a local AQAP threat.

This morning's operation highlights a continuing trend of the US targeting local AQAP commanders and fighters who are waging a local insurgency against the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by _The Long War Journal_ in the spring of 2012 [see _LWJ_ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012].

This contradicts a US Department of Justice white paper that claimed the drone program will target only those AQAP operatives who "present an 'imminent' threat of violent attack against the United States."

The US has carried out 21 strikes in Yemen so far this year; several of those strikes have targeted AQAP's local network. The US ramped up its air campaign in Yemen in 2009, and has conducted 106 air and cruise missile strikes in the country since the program was expanded. Ten of those attacks took place in 2011, 41 in 2012, 26 in 2013, and 23 so far this year. Prior to 2009, the US launched one airstrike, against al Qaeda in Yemen in 2002.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/us_drone_strikes_kil_3.php#ixzz3IsmmpMjk


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## TruthSeeker

*US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in southern Yemen*

By BILL ROGGIO, anuary 31, 2015

The US killed four suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters in a drone strike today in southern Yemen. The strike is the second reported in Yemen this week.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in Al Saeed in Shabwa province, Reuters reported. Four suspected AQAP fighters were killed in the attack, according to The Associated Press.

The identities of those killed in the US counterterrorism operation have not be disclosed. AQAP has not released an official statement announcing the death of senior leaders or operatives.

The strike is the second in Yemen this week, as well as the second so far this year. Last year, US drones hit 23 targets in Yemen. AQAP's leadership has remained intact and the group has remained a threat to Yemen as well as the international community, despite a concerted US air campaign that was ramped up in 2009. AQAP claimed credit for directing the recent terrorist attack in Paris, France.

The last strike, on Jan. 26, is controversial as one of the three purported AQAP fighters who was killed was just 13 years old. According to _The Yemen Times_, AQAP said that the 13 year-old, identified as Mohammed Saleh Duaayman, was a member of the group and that the family receives support from the jihadist group after his father and a brother were killed in a US drone strike late last year.

"Mohammed's family emphatically deny that he was a member of Al-Qaeda," _The Yemen Times_ reported. But "Their home is covered in Al-Qaeda flags ..."

Both strikes this year took place after Houthi rebels overran the capital of Sana'a and forced President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the government to resign. Hadi was a staunch supporter of US counterterrorism efforts, including drone strikes, despite local and international criticism.

The Houthis, a Shiite minority that is backed by Iran, is no friend of the United States. The group's motto is "Death to America," and it is expected that support for US operations will wane as Houthi influence grows.

Additionally, Sunni tribes who oppose the Houthi incursion into central and western Yemen may turn to AQAP in the absence of a Sunni-led government. Earlier this week, AQAP claimed it conduct joint operations, under the guise of Ansar al Sharia, its political front, against the Houthis in Marib. AQAP release a statement titled "Tribes of Marib and Ansar al Shariah Repel a Houthi Campaign in Marib of Northern Yemen," which was obtained by the SITE Intelligence Group. AQAP claimed it assassinated a Houthi leader in Sana'a during the "campaign."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/01/us_drones_kill_4_aqa_3.php#ixzz3QiqQmwWd


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## TruthSeeker

*Influential AQAP ideologue killed in US drone strike*
By THOMAS JOSCELYN, February 5, 2015





*Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 31.*


A US drone strike in southern Yemen on Jan. 31 killed Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) sharia official. Nadhari's death was confirmed in a "martyrdom" statement issued by the group via Twitter and other web sites earlier today.

Nadhari praised the attack on Charlie Hebdo's offices just days after the massacre on Jan. 9. He did not claim responsibility for the operation, but another senior AQAP official subsequently did.

The AQAP statement announcing Nadhari's death was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. AQAP confirms that Nadhari worked for its sharia committee, and says that three other fighters were killed in the drone strike.

AQAP portrays the bombing that killed Nadhari as being part of a working agreement between the US and the Shia Houthis rebels who overran Yemeni government positions in recent weeks. The drone strike "came a few hours after the completion of the deal for the Houthis to take control of the administration of the country with an American and regional collusion," the statement reads, according to SITE's translation. "The Houthis have become a loyal partner to America in preserving its interests and executing its plans in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula."

The Houthis receive at least some support from Iran. And AQAP frequently claims that they are part of an alleged US-Iranian axis that is opposing Sunni Muslims throughout the region.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/02/influential_aqap_ide.php#ixzz3Qvb7pqKp


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## TruthSeeker

*Jihadists mourn slain AQAP sharia official*

By THOMAS JOSCELYN, February 6, 2015

Yesterday, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed that one of its senior sharia officials, Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, had been killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 31 in southern Yemen. Jihadists aligned with al Qaeda's international network quickly issued their condolences upon hearing the news.

"He was a worthy son of Islam who worked towards the establishment of a caliphate on the path of the Prophet," Wilayat Dagestan, a "province" of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE), said in a statement on its official web site. "This brother left us exactly at a time when we acutely need scholars like himself," the message continues, according to a translation obtained by _The Long War Journal_.

Wilayat Dagestan has been embroiled in a controversy, as its former leader and other ICE members swore allegiance to the Islamic State late last year. It is not clear how much sway they have in Dagestan and elsewhere at the moment, but the group's propaganda arm remains loyal to al Qaeda. The defectors were denounced by ICE's emir, Abu Muhammad al Dagestani, who named a new leader for the jihadist group's Dagestan "province."

Nadhari was one of the ten jihadist ideologues who endorsed Dagestani as ICE's leader, and denounced the defectors, in a statement that was issued shortly before his death. Wilayat Dagestan's statement commemorating Nadhari implicitly recognizes the controversy over the defectors, as it references the supposedly proper way to re-establish the "caliphate" and the necessity of having "scholars" such as him. One of al Qaeda's central critiques of the Islamic State's "caliphate" is that it was not established according to the Prophetic method, as Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and his subordinates did not first build support for their endeavor among recognized jihadist authorities.





Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, an al Qaeda-linked cleric who works closely with the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, openly mourned Nadhari on his Twitter feed. Muhaysini changed the profile image on his Twitter feed, which has approximately 345,000 followers, to a picture of Nadhari.

Muhaysini also posted an image of himself alongside Nadhari to commemorate his fallen comrade. The image can be seen to the right.

The SITE Intelligence Group reports that Sirajuddin Zurayqat, a leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in Lebanon, similarly praised Nadhari in a pair of tweets. "May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Harith al Nadhari and accept him among the martyrs, and may He make our mujahideen brothers stand firm in the Arabian Peninsula," Zurayqat wrote, according to SITE. "Here are American drones flying over the agents of Iran to kill soldiers of the Most Gracious in the Yemen of faith."

The "agents of Iran" referenced in Zurayqat's tweets are the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis are backed, at least in part, by Iran. And AQAP consistently portrays America's actions in Yemen as being part of a supposed Iranian-American axis that is fighting Sunni Muslims throughout the greater Middle East. Zurayqat played upon this same theme in his tweets mourning Nadhari's death.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/02/jihadist_mourn_slain.php#ixzz3R1Rfh46A


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