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Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Excerpts: Yemen, U.S. joint attack on Al-Qaeda April 22, 2014

Excerpts: Yemen, U.S. joint attack on Al-Qaeda April 22, 2014
+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 22 April =9214:=94Dozens killed as Yemen,U.S. mount=
air =

war on Al Qaeda(in Yemen)=94,Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Yemen, U.S. joint attack on Al-Qaeda

QUOTE: =93An =93unprecedented=94 US and Yemeni aerial campaign in Yemen ki=
lled at =

least 68 Al-Qaeda militants=94

FULL TEXT:ADEN =97 An =93unprecedented=94 US and Yemeni aerial campaign in =
Yemen =

killed at least 68 Al Qaeda militants in a bid to head off attacks by the =

network=92s local affiliate, officials said Monday[21 April].

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been linked to a number of =

failed terror plots against the United States, and its leader has appeared =

in a rare video in which he vowed to attack Western =93crusaders... everywh=
ere =

in the world=94.

A top Yemeni official told AFP the =93unprecedented=94 Saturday-Sunday air =
war =

came after =93information that Al Qaeda was plotting attacks on vital =

installations, military and security, as well as foreign interests in Yemen=
=94.

The interior ministry said intensive air strikes on Al Qaeda bases in the =

rugged mountains of Abyan province on Sunday[20 April] killed 55 militants, =

including three local chiefs.

Tribal sources had put the death toll from the raids near the town of Al =

Mahfad at more than 30.

The interior ministry said the raids lasted several hours, adding that =

=93terrorists of Arab and foreign nationalities are among the dead and are =
in =

the process of being identified=94.

The top official said Yemeni MiG-29 jet fighters took part in the raids, =

which tribal sources said involved unmanned drones.

The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but US =

officials rarely acknowledge the covert drone programme.

A drone strike on Sunday[20 April] night killed three militants, one of who=
m =

may have been a senior commander, when a missile blasted their off-road =

vehicle in the southern Shabwa province, an official said.

Witnesses confirmed the vehicle was completely destroyed and said they saw =

the charred remains of three individuals.

Shortly after the attack, commandos in an unmarked helicopter arrived to =

retrieve the bodies, they said.

=93The operation seems to indicate that one of the dead could be an importa=
nt =

leader of Al Qaeda,=94 one witness told AFP.

And on Saturday[19 April], a drone strike in the central province of Baida =

killed 10 Al Qaeda suspects and three civilians, official Saba news agency =

reported. It did not say who carried out the attack.

Meanwhile, two gunmen on a motorbike shot dead an intelligence officer =

Monday[21 April] and wounded another in Sanaa, in an attack that =93bore th=
e =

hallmarks of Al Qaeda=94, an official said.

President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi, meanwhile, awarded Yemen=92s counterterror=
ism =

unit the medal of =93bravery=94 for its =93successful raid last night=94, t=
he =

government said in a statement.

=93The operation delivers a strong message to the criminal and terror =

operatives that the armed forces and security personnel are ready to foil =

and thwart terrorist acts at any time and place,=94 said Hadi.

=91War against crusaders=92

The weekend attacks came after AQAP chief Nasser Al Wuhayshi pledged to =

fight Western =93crusaders=94 everywhere, apparently referring to the Unite=
d =

States and other countries which have intervened in Muslim countries.

=93We will continue to raise the banner of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula a=
nd =

our war against the crusaders will continue everywhere in the world,=94 he =

said in a video posted online last month.

The video, which showed Wuhayshi addressing militants, could have been shot =

in the Al Kur mountain range, which stretches between Abyan, Shabwa and =

Baida provinces, and has become a stronghold for AQAP, tribal sources said.

Hadi has defended the use of drones, despite criticism from rights groups =

concerned about civilian casualties.

The United States has defended its use of drones against Al Qaeda, saying =

they allow it to target jihadists without sending soldiers into lawless =

areas where local authorities have little or no control.

Rights groups have criticised the drone programme in Yemen and other =

countries, and repeatedly urged the US administration to investigate strike=
s =

in which civilians have been killed

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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA =

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rab-Israeli relations

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