Trump gives commanders new powers to launch military strikes

Al-Qaida in Yemen, seen as the militant group’s most risky offshoot, has seized large swaths of land and entire cities starting from 2011, the year the mass uprising started and ended with longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh leaving power.

“The increased counterterrorism operations are compensating for the absence of a Yemeni counterterrorism capability and highly restricted operations under the Obama administration”, Mitchell said today.

The strikes come barely a month after a controversial American commando raid against the jihadists that left multiple civilians dead and killed a US Navy SEAL.

The US has been battling al-Qaeda in Yemen for years.

“I don’t want to telegraph future operations but this is part of a plan to go after this very real threat and ensure they are defeated”, Davis said. On Jan. 29, the Pentagon launched the commando raid against the same branch of al-Qaeda that resulted in the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens.

As many as 25 civilians and 14 Al-Qaeda fighters were also killed in the raid.

Several questions over whether the raid was worth the loss of Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens – an elite US special operator – and an Osprey aircraft have since been raised.

Calling him a “hero”, the statement said Masri “was killed during a Crusader drone strike” in Syria.

Davis denied reports from the region that USA infiltration teams had been inserted into Yemen and had engaged in firefights during the airstrikes.

One of the targets was the home of Saad Atef, a local leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. “Now we are focused on going after the leadership and the entire network”.

The U.S. carried out more than 30 airstrikes on AQAP militants in Yemen between Thursday and Friday, though an exact number was not given.

The hunt for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi also continues in earnest. No fewer than 10 different US officials across different departments told NBC yesterday that no actionable intelligence had been produced by the operation.

A US military official said that the overall objective and mission in Yemen did not change since President Trump came to office – it is still to eliminate AQAP’s safe haven in Yemen and to eradicate the terror group.