A US drone strike on Saturday targeted a motorcycle in the Al-Husoon area of Al-Wadi district, east of Yemen’s Marib province, eliminating two alleged Al-Qaeda terrorists, a local government security source told Xinhua.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two were from Al-Wadi district but did not provide their names.
The strike comes amid ongoing counter-terrorism operations in Yemen, where US drones have periodically targeted individuals believed to be affiliated with terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda. The US has also targeted the Iranian-backed Houthis in strikes.
Neither the United States nor the internationally recognized Yemeni government has issued an official statement regarding the incident.
Marib, a strategic and oil-rich province under government control, has long been a focal point of conflict. Both Al-Qaeda and the Houthis have sought to expand their activities there since the civil war erupted in late 2014.
Al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch, called Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has carried out many terrorist attacks in Yemen in recent years and has also targeted the West.
In 2015, the group claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris and then called for “lone wolf attacks” against Western targets.
In 2020, AQAP claimed an attack at a US naval base in Pensacola, Florida, though it provided no evidence.
The group’s leader, Sa’ad bin Atef al-Awlaki, has in the past issued direct threats against US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk in a video address.
In July, the US State Department announced it had raised the reward for information leading to the whereabouts of al-Awlaki from $6 million to $10 million.