Reuters reports that at least four suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed in a Tuesday night drone strike against a vehicle in Yemen.
Residents of Amqoz, a town in the Abyan province of al-Qaeda-infested southern Yemen, said the attack occurred around midnight and left the targeted vehicle “completely burned” with four “badly-charred” bodies inside.
“Residents also reported hearing missile strikes on a suspected al Qaeda outpost in Wadi al-Naseel area, also in Abyan province, but said the number of casualties was unknown,” Reuters adds.
AFP reported on Wednesday that five suspected militants were killed in strikes late Tuesday night: the four in the car, plus a man driving a motorcycle down a side street in the town of Rawda. The motorcycle was hit by three missiles. Its rider was “known locally as an AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] member,” according to a local official.
The United States has stepped up operations against al-Qaeda in Yemen since the beginning of March, conducting dozens of strikes in the southern and central parts of the country. The Trump administration is considering a deeper role in the Yemeni civil war, providing more aid to the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in the country.
On Wednesday, Yemeni troops reported the capture of a senior AQAP leader during an early morning raid on Tuesday.
“Special forces stormed the house in a remote village where Abu Ali Al-Sayari, a Saudi national of Yemeni origins, was hiding, the official said. They detained three others and killed two more,” Reuters reports.