US strike kills 2 Al Qaeda militants in Yemen

Two militants from the Yemen-based Al Qaeda branch were killed in a US drone strike in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Thursday, a military official said.

"The US drone targeted a vehicle carrying the militants in the Sawmaah area of al-Bayda province, killing two Al Qaeda operatives at the scene," the local military official told Xinhua news agency.

The deceased militants were identified as Jalal al-Saydi and Abu Bilal al-Lawdari and they participated in several terrorist attacks in Yemen.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009.

Since then it has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's Army and government institutions.

 

--IANS

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