Elite US forces launched a dawn raid against Al-Qaeda in Yemen on Sunday, killing at least 14 suspected jehadis in an operation in which an American soldier also died. The assault marked Washington’s first major military action in Yemen under President Donald Trump, who has vowed to step up the US fight against Islamic extremism.
The US military said the raid in the Yakla region of Baida province killed 14 members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington views as the global network’s most dangerous branch. A Yemeni provincial official gave a higher toll of 41 presumed militants and 16 civilians killed in the raid, including eight women and eight children.
Washington did not specify how the US soldier died. It said three more American servicemen were injured in the raid along with a fourth who was hurt in a “hard landing”, without providing details.