Scene after an air strike in Yemen Sanaa – Ali Rabea Two people have been killed in an air raid carried out by a US drone on Tuesday. The attack targeted two vehicles transporting two dangerous members of al-Qaeda, Yemeni sources revealed to Arabstoday . The attack took place in the desert in the Marib province, East of Sanaa.
An official source in the Yemeni Supreme Security Committee said that the two vehicles were heavily loaded with weapons and explosives, which lead to secondary explosions. The source said that they didn't aim to kill and that whenever it is possible they are trying to be in control to bring the suspects to justice. The Yemeni Supreme Security Committee have also urged people who have information about the network to contact the security services.
Arabstoday's sources have revealed that drones have relentlessly been patrolling the area. They said that it was only after careful observations of those two particular vehicles that the US military decided to target them. It became apparent that the likely destination of the vehicles was East Yemen, where al-Qaeda cells are spread across the vast region.
A military source has revealed the identity of one of the two deceased - Saudi national Salem Mubarak al-Sayari. The source also said that the Yemeni military is hunting down al-Qaeda members, and that they had already fled the provinces of southern Abyan and Shabwa after a major military operation.
The United States and Yemen have worked in coordination in order to rid the country of al-Qaeda. Yemeni Interior Minister and US senior Defence Officials have met on Tuesday to elaborate a strategy to strengthen security forces in the country. It is believed that they have traced al-Qaeda cells in the Arabian Peninsula, considered the most dangerous wing of the network. They have targeted and killed members of the organisation in Hadramout, Abyan, Shabwa and Marib.