Summary Pentagon has said that US air strikes in Yemen since April 23 have killed 10 Al-Qaeda operatives.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Recent US air strikes in Yemen have killed 10 Al-Qaeda operatives, and the United States has been helping Gulf-backed forces as they target the jihadists, a defense official said Friday.
"We have conducted four counterterrorism strikes against AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) since April 23, killing 10 Al-Qaeda operatives and injuring another," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
He added the United States had been helping Yemeni and Arab Coalition forces -- especially the United Arab Emirates --- in recent weeks as they pushed Al-Qaeda from the port city of Mukalla, which had been under AQAP control since April last year.
The support included a "very small number" of US military personnel -- as well as intelligence, surveillance, planning, maritime security and medical help, Davis said.
He said the troops were helping with the Emiratis with "intelligence support," but declined to say if they are special operations forces.
"This is of great interest to us. It does not serve our interests to have a terrorist organization in charge of a port city, and so we are assisting in that," Davis said.
AQAP took advantage of the chaos of fighting between pro-government forces and Iran-backed rebels to expand its control in southern Yemen.
Davis said the recent air strikes were separate from operations in Mukalla.
The United States periodically conducts such attacks on AQAP targets in Yemen, including a strike in March on a training camp that killed more than 70 fighters.
AQAP, which has long been entrenched in Yemen, is regarded by Washington as the network s most dangerous branch, and it has carried out deadly attacks on the West in the past.
