by Itunuoluwa Adebo
Seven al-Qaeda militants were killed,Tuesday, during the raid of an al-Qaeda compound by US Special forces in Yemen.
The U.S. Central Command released a statement that the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants were killed “through a combination of small-arms fire and precision air strikes” in the Marib governorate, with the support of the Yemeni government, Reuters report.
The statement said, “Raids such as this provide insight into AQAP’s disposition, capabilities and intentions, which will allow us to continue to pursue, disrupt, and degrade AQAP.”
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Anonymous U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters said there were no American casualties and the raid was carried just about 40-45 km (25-30 miles) north of another raid that took place late January. There was no immediate reports of civilian casualties in the raid.
According to Fox, the raid in January was the first of its kind authorised by President Trump, was celebrated by the White House but the success was later questioned after a women, children and a Navy Seal was killed. President Trump did not authorise this specific raid, as the Pentagon was granted the authority to do so months ago.
There have been over 80 airstrikes against AQAP, long considered the biggest terrorist threat to the West, since President Trump assumed office. According to officials, the purpose of the raid was to gather intelligence about AQAP, and not to kill or kidnap.
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