* Yemen is home to one of most active al Qaeda wings
* Four attacks on militants in four days
* Discontent over drone attacks growing
SANAA, Jan 23 (Reuters) – At least six suspected al Qaeda
members were killed in a U.S. drone strike in northern Yemen on
Wednesday, local sources said, in an escalating campaign in
which at least 20 Islamist militants have died this week.
The United States never comments on strikes by its pilotless
aircraft, which it has used to track down militants in Yemen for
years. The Yemeni government tolerates such strikes but usually
does not comment on the U.S. role in specific incidents.
Washington has scaled up action against al Qaeda in Yemen,
where the group exploited widespread anti-government unrest in
2011 to seize swathes of territory in the southern part of the
country, before being driven out in a U.S.-backed offensive in
June last year.
The sources said the drone strike targeted a vehicle
travelling in rural areas near the capital Sanaa.
“The vehicle was totally destroyed and the corpses were
burned beyond recognition,” one source told Reuters.
U.S. drones have launched almost daily raids on suspected al
Qaeda militants in Yemen since Saturday.
Shoring up stability and security in Yemen is a priority for
the United States and its Gulf Arab allies because of its
location next to the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, and
to shipping lanes, and because it is home to one of the most
active wings of al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is considered by
Western governments to be one of the most dangerous arms of the
global network founded by Osama bin Laden, and has attempted a
number of attacks against U.S. targets.
Four suspected insurgents were killed in a strike at al-Jawf
province, near the border with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. On
Monday, four suspected militants were killed in a drone strike
in central Yemen, while another six were killed in two separate
raids on Saturday and Sunday.
A further 10 suspected al Qaeda fighters died in an
explosion in a house in southern Yemen on Sunday.
Air strikes have aggravated discontent among Yemenis, who
say the strikes pose a threat to civilians in the area.
A Yemeni cabinet minister on Tuesday criticised drone
strikes and urged a move to ground operations to avoid hurting
civilians.
On Sunday armed tribesman, angry at what they said was a
drone attack on an area inhabited by civilians, blocked the main
road linking Maarib with Sanaa.
Earlier this month, dozens of armed tribesmen also took to
the streets in southern Yemen to protest against drone strikes
that they said had killed innocent civilians and fuelled anger
against the United States.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing
by Myra MacDonald)
