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US suffers first combat death under Trump in Yemen raid on al-Qaida US commando dies in Yemen raid as Trump counter-terror plans take shape
(about 2 hours later)
A US service member has been killed and three others wounded during a raid in Yemen on Sunday that targeted the local branch of al-Qaida, according to US Central Command. The loss is the first known combat death of a US soldier under President Donald Trump’s new administration. One elite US commando is dead and three wounded after a Yemen raid that Donald Trump’s Pentagon is signalling will be a template for aggressive counter-terrorism action.
The gun battle in the rural Yakla district of Bayda province killed Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, a senior leader in Yemen’s al-Qaida branch, along with other militants, local witnesses said. The Pentagon did not address rumors of civilian casualties currently circulating on social media. An aircraft malfunction led to what the Pentagon called a “hard landing in a nearby location”. Commandos intentionally destroyed the aircraft, which local residents and officials said was a helicopter.
Another service member was injured during a “hard landing” in a nearby location, the US military said. The aircraft, a helicopter, according to local residents and officials, was unable to fly afterwards and was intentionally destroyed, US sources added. The US has been without a governmental partner in Yemen since a 2015 coup by the Houthi movement overthrew a US-backed administration. The US under both Barack Obama and Trump has supported a bloody Saudi-led air war to oust the Houthis.
The Central Command statement said 14 militants from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault in which US service members captured information that would be likely to “provide insight into the planning of future terror plots”. Accordingly, the US was said to have staged Saturday’s raid offshore, from an aircraft carrier in the region.
Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault killed three senior al-Qaida leaders. Residents and local officials claimed the dawn raid killed around 30 people, including civilians. “We are deepy saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members,” said Gen Joseph Votel, commander of US forces in the middle east and south Asia.
Medical workers at the scene said the dead included 10 women and three children. “These sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe.
The raid is the first in Yemen by US troops since the country descended into civil war nearly two years ago. Central Command, in a Sunday statement, said “an estimated” 14 members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been killed in the raid. It provided no indication regarding the raid’s objective.
In a message on its official Telegram account, al-Qaida praised Dhahab as a “holy warrior” and mourned other dead militants, without specifying how many of its fighters had been killed. The Pentagon clarified that US service members had not taken prisoners in the raid, forestalling the first major decision of the Trump administration over where to hold wartime detainees. Trump has vowed to send terrorist suspects captured overseas to Guantánamo Bay, and this week signed an executive order that underscored his determination to restock the infamous wartime detention center.
One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The operation began at dawn when a drone bombed the home of Abdulraoof al-Dhahab and then helicopters flew up and unloaded paratroopers at his house and killed everyone inside. Central Command said the raid included “the capture of information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots”.
“Next, the gunmen opened fire at the US soldiers who left the area, and the helicopters bombed the gunmen and a number of homes and led to a large number of casualties.” Local witnesses cited by Reuters said the gun battle in the rural Yakla district of Bayda province killed Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, a senior AQAP leader, along with other militants. Unidentified Yemeni security officials reportedly said three senior al-Qaida leaders were killed.
A Yemeni security officer and a local official corroborated that account. Fahd, a local resident who asked that only his first name be used, said several bodies remained under debris and that houses and the local mosque were damaged in the attack. The military’s elite Joint Special Operations Command (J-Soc) has been intensely active in Yemen since the Obama administration, launching numerous drone strikes and raids against AQAP, which US intelligence officials consider the most dangerous of the remaining al-Qaida affiliates.
Before leaving Central Command, Votel commanded J-Soc. Trump’s national security adviser, the retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn, was once J-Soc’s intelligence chief.
Such deep experience with J-Soc makes it a likely instrument for counter-terrorism in the Trump era as well – Central Command indicated the Saturday raid in Yemen would be the first in an unfolding pattern.
“This is one in a series of aggressive moves against terrorist planners in Yemen and worldwide,“ Central Command said in a statement.
Elsewhere, fierce battles between Yemeni government forces and Shia rebels on the country’s west coast killed more than 100 fighters in 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.Elsewhere, fierce battles between Yemeni government forces and Shia rebels on the country’s west coast killed more than 100 fighters in 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.
A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years. In 2014, the Shia Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sana’a.A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years. In 2014, the Shia Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sana’a.
The bodies of at least 90 Houthi rebels were taken to a hospital in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is controlled by the insurgents, while 19 dead soldiers were taken to the southern port city of Aden, the medical and military sources said.The bodies of at least 90 Houthi rebels were taken to a hospital in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, which is controlled by the insurgents, while 19 dead soldiers were taken to the southern port city of Aden, the medical and military sources said.
The US conducted dozens of drone strikes in Yemen throughout Barack Obama’s presidency to combat al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as one of the global militant group’s most dangerous branches.
The local al-Qaida unit organised the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack in Paris in 2015 and has repeatedly tried to bring down US airliners.