USA drone strikes kill leaders of ISIS & al-Qaeda in Yemen

A top Al Qaeda commander, who was speculated to have become the new leader of Islamic State in Yemen, was reportedly killed by suspected USA drone strikes in Yemen Thursday.

Militants, including AQAP and Daesh, have gained ground in the south, with AQAP fighters seizing the town of Azzan in Shabwa, earlier this week.

Jalal Baleedi, top commander of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed in a US airstrike in south Yemen on Thursday.

Jalai Baleedi is believed to be the commander who was killed in one of the drone strikes, according to Reuters.

The head of the Al-Qa’ida terror organization in Yemen was killed in what is presumed to have been an American drone strike on Wednesday. They move freely between Hadramawt, Shabwa and Abyan.

The second strike hit militants in their vehicle in the coastal Abyan province, killing six occupants including Baleedi.

The authorities have struggled to exert control over several southern regions that loyalists have recaptured from the Huthis and their allies since July.

Suspected US drone strikes, which normally use Hellfire missiles, have killed some of AQAP’s top leaders, including its chief Nasser al-Wuhayshi last June.

Islamists have been behind a surge in attacks on security installations and officials in Aden, which has been chosen as a temporary base for the government.