Pentagon: 20 US air raids in Yemen target al-Qaeda

The United States said it carried out more than 20 strikes in Yemen targeting al-Qaeda on Thursday, in the first major operations against the group since a botched US commando raid against the group left multiple civilians and a Navy SEAL dead.

The Pentagon said the strikes targeted al-Qaeda fighters, heavy weapons systems, equipment, infrastructure and the group's fighting positions.

The raids, including drones and manned aircraft, were carried out in the Yemeni governorates of Abyan, al-Bayda and



Shabwah.

The US military did not estimate the number of casualties in the strikes, but residents and local officials told news agencies that at least nine suspected al-Qaeda fighters were killed.

"The strikes will degrade the AQAP's ability to coordinate external terror attacks and limit their ability to use territory seized from the legitimate government of Yemen as a safe space for terror plotting," Navy Captain Jeff Davis said, using an acronym for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.