A Massive Operation Targeting Al Qaeda Militants In Yemen

On Monday, April 21st CNN reported a massive operation that is mainly targeting al Qaeda in Yemen provinces of Abyan and Shabwa. This is an ongoing exercise where members of the militia group are hunted out of the Arabian Peninsula. Reports are courtesy of a high level government official who was giving a brief about the operation. So far, 65 have been killed as per the current statistics on the number of al Qaeda militants killed in Yemen. A good number of these killings happened in the two provinces.

In addition, Sunday and Monday’s operations yielded more killings than ever before. In fact, 55 killings took place on Sunday and Monday whereas 10 were gunned down on Saturday in nearby al-Bayda province. While talking to CNN, Yemen’s high-level government official told reporters that three civilians have been killed so far. In its operation, Yemen decided to incorporate Special Forces to root out all militants present in the country. The kind of ambush that took place on Sunday night managed to reach high-value targets in al-Qaeda.

The Forces exchanged a lot of gunfire and finally succeeded to kill three militants who were boarded in a vehicle on a highway. What are some of the techniques used by Yemen officials to reveal identities of those killed? It is very possible to find innocent Yemen citizens killed in the operation. Mistaken identities have always played center-stage where civilians are found rounded-up in any terror operation. For this one, bodies of all victims are being collected awaiting DNA testing to determine their identities.

On Sunday, there was a suspected U.S drone strikes that targeted al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen. In fact, this incident is happening for the second time in less than 2 days where at least a dozen is killed. The government official shaded more light about the drone strikes, which targeted a mountain ridge in the southern province of Abyan. In the same province, followers of al-Qaeda are said to have gathered in the Arabian Peninsula to hear from Nasir al-Wuhayshi. Nasir is the head of terrorist network that has a branch in Yemen alongside serving the global organization’s “crown prince.”