Fourteen militants are suspected to have been killed on air raids carried out by the US forces on the Al Qaeda-claimed territory in Yemen. The said air raids are one of the biggest attacks led by the US forces on the militant group.
The Yahoo News reported, the air strikes took place on the al Qaeda-claimed territory in southern part of Yemen on Sunday. Local residents said, an aircraft air raided the buildings Al Qaeda group was using located in the southern coastal Abyan province.
The air strikes also destroyed the militants' government intelligence headquarters located in the provincial capital Zinjibar. It is believed the building is used as their base. There had been six people reported to be dead by the medics from the said location, News Daily reported. An alleged US drone attack is also reported to have killed another eight militants earlier on Sunday in al-Hudhn and Naqeel al-Hayala villages in Abyan.
Houthis, who was part of the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam, ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2015, following which he has won the support of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi forces have been helping Hadi in his bid to return to power.
Taking advantage of the ongoing unrest in the country, al-Qaeda wings have captured many buildings and military bases in Yemen, besides running training camps for their fighters, Daily Mail reported. Al-Qaeda militants, many of whom belong to Sunni tribes in south and eastern Yemen, are also fighting against the Houthis.
The militant group has also attacked the state of Yemen for years, planned to bomb US bound airliners as well as claimed they are behind the Paris attack last year in January on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people.
The US has confirmed the attacks using drones however, they refuse to comment regarding the specific details over the attack. The United Nations recently said the warring parties have agreed to ease tensions from the midnight of 10 April and start a fresh round of peace talks in Kuwait on 18 April. The truce then carried out a prisoner swap with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Two rounds of talks failed to broker any deal last year.
