More U.S. drone attacks in Yemen, 3 suspected militants reported killed

Three suspected Al Qaeda militants were killed in a U.S. drone attack in the south-eastern province of Maareb. The mostly desert area has been a refuge for militants driven from their strongholds by a recent offensive.

Al Qaeda and other militants had taken over almost entire provinces in the south of Yemen but an offensive by Yemeni forces advised and supported by U.S.advisers drove them out. However, they still mount effective attacks upon the government and security forces. The U.S. has continued to mount many drone attacks in Yemen.

Last Thursday (October 18), a drone strike killed nine people in a farmhouse in Abyan province. One of those killed was described as a local AQAP leader.

After former president Saleh gave up power in a deal that granted immunity from prosecution to him, his family, and associates, his vice-president Mansour Hadi was elected president unopposed. He was supported by the U.S. Hadi has been praised by the U.S. ambassador to Yemen as being more effective in battling militants than his predecessor. Hadi has been quoted as saying that he approves every drone attack.

The UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, claims that as many as 56 civilians have been killed by drones this year alone. Reports on the strikes usually identify the victims as suspected militants. Sometimes when a high value target is killed, this will be mentioned.

On September 10, the Yemeni Ministry of Defense website announced that Said al-Shehri, the second in command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was killed during a Yemeni army operation in the remote province of Hadramout. Other sources said he was killed by a U.S. drone. Shehri is a Saudi who had been at Guantanamo. On Sept.16, Saudi officials said they could not confirm al-Shehri's death.

Now al-Shehri has released an audio tape denying he was killed. The media adviser to Yemen's prime minister said that the tape seemed authentic. It is not uncommon for high value targets to have almost as many lives as cats. On the tape al-Shehri says:

"The news that was reported about my killing in the Arabian Peninsula is a rumor to cover up the killing of the innocent, unarmed Muslims in Yemen, who were killed by American drones in the east and west."

After being released from Guantanamo, al-Shehri was returned to Saudi Arabia where he took part in a rehabilitation program. Armed with these credentials, he was able to become second in command of AQAP.

Yemen: Government forces attack militants with U.S. help

Yemeni government forces are trying to wrest parts of southern Yemen from Al Qaeda and other Islamic militants who have occupied considerable swaths of territory while the country was in turmoil.

President Hadi the former protege and vice-president under Saleh has fired some Saleh loyalist from positions of power but a son of Saleh continues to run the elite Republican Guards.

Two who were fired refused to give up their positions and one general closed down the airport in the capital by surrounding it with loyal troops. The airport is open again now. See this article.



A mainly covert U.S. role in Yemen relies to a considerable extent on drones which are flown from a base in nearby Djibouti on the horn of Africa. There is also a secret base thought to be in Saudi Arabia.However, there are also special forces on the ground.

Yemeni officials also reported that the capital of Abyan province, Zinjibar was hit by missile fire from the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni government does not have the capability to mount such an attack so no doubt it was mounted from U.S. warships. Zinjibar is occupied by the militant group Ansar al Sharia.

Hadi has so far thrown his lot in with the U.S. in making a priority attacks upon Al Qaeda and other militant groups such as Ansar al Sharia. Saleh alternated attacks with deals with the militants.

Since last May there have been 26 reported U.S,. drone strikes in Yemen. So far this year there have been a dozen already. However militants are stepping up attacks too often taking the battle to the military by attacking bases. The military has already suffered 250 killed this year and lost several bases to militants.

AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and Ansar al Sharia have bet wen them captured a number of towns in southern provinces. They have often repelled attempts by government forces to retake the towns.

Ansar al-Sharia has been especially active wiping out some 150 government troops in an attack west of Zinjibar. Often weapons caches have been captured as well. In the captured towns the group imposes its own strict Sharia law.

The south of Yemen was long a separate state. There is a strong separatist movement as well as Islamic radicals active in the south. Many inhabitants feel abandoned by the central government and believe they get little or nothing from the union. For more see this article.

Yemen: U.S. drone attacks may target opponents of regime who are not Al Qaeda

While the U.S. official goal in Yemen attacks is to strike Al Qaeda the attacks are escalating and may be directed against those simply opposed to the present regime rather than being Al Qaeda groups aiming to attack the U.S. However, the U.S. actions may very well causing militant groups to decide to link with Al Qaeda and contemplate attacking U.S. targets.

While the official justification for extra-judicial killings in these attacks is that the groups attacked represent an imminent threat to the U.S. and hence the attacks are self-defense. However groups such as Ansar Al Sharia who control parts of several provinces were not clearly threats to the U.S. as contrasted with AQAP but they are now characterized as Al Qaeda linked whatever that means. No doubt they may be now they have been subject to U.S. attacks!

Saleh's former vice-president Major Abdu Mansour Hadi is now president and seemingly very supportive of the U.S.surge in drone attacks. In return Hadi receives aid and fulsome praise from the U.S. in spite of the fact he was a fixture in the Salah regime and ran unopposed for the presidency. He is a model figure for democratic transition according to U.S.. authorities.

Jeremy Scahill writes in the Nation that the drone strikes and support for the Yemen government is producing more anti-Americanism and garners recruits for international terrorist acts. As Charles Schmitz a Yemen expert said:: ”The more the U.S. applies its current policy, the stronger Al Qaeda seems to get.”

A former U.S. ambassador to Yemen said:“Drones are a weapon of terror in many ways, and the kind of hostility this is going to breed may not be worth the counter-terrorism gains,” However no one in the Obama administration pays the slightest heed to these warnings. The same type of statement has been made about attacks in Pakistan and with the same results. For more see this article..

Stars and Stripes the U.S. military newspaper also has an excellent account of these drone attacks. The newspaper is often a source of solid information often ignored by the regular press. Here is a snippet from their article:

"" Hadi "has shown the will and ability to make the changes. ... It's a matter of getting the right focus and the right plan and someone to lead it," the senior Defense official said.

Heavily armed American soldiers have begun appearing in large numbers at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital, Sana, a Yemeni official said. ""

It is clear that Hadi is being coached to go in the direction that the U.S. wants. Clear too is the presence of U.S. special forces on the ground in Yemen.