‘US drone kills four al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen’
With Ramadan ending, Washington closes embassies, imposes heightened security in 'abundance of caution' against terror attacks
Amid growing concerns of a possible al-Qaeda attack on American or other Western sites abroad, US drones targeted members of the international Sunni terror group in Yemen on Tuesday.
According to the AFP news agency, four operatives were killed in the strike, which was the fourth of its kind in the last 10 days. The attack took place in the province of Marib in the east of the country.
It was unclear whether or not the rash of strikes was connected to a recent heightened security alert that has included the temporary closure of 19 US embassies in the Middle East and four additional American missions in Africa.
On Monday, Yemeni authorities released the names of 25 wanted al-Qaeda suspects, saying they were planning terrorist attacks in the capital, Sanaa, and other cities across the country.
AFP cited “tribal sources” as saying that two of the four people killed on Tuesday morning were Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli and Saleh Ali Guti. Waeli was one of the al-Qaeda members on the Yemeni government’s new wanted list.
The closure of the 19 embassies in the Middle East follows the interception of a secret message between al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen. Two American intelligence officials told the Associated Press on Monday that the message revealed plans for a major terror attack.
State Department sources referred to the increased security measures as an “abundance of caution” that potential attacks by al-Qaeda may coincide with this week’s conclusion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“There has been an awful lot of [terrorist] chatter, which is very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11,” Republican senator Saxby Chambliss told NBC’s Meet the Press in defending the decision to close the embassies. “As we come to the end of Ramadan, which is always an interesting time for terrorists, and the upcoming 9/11 anniversary, this is the most serious threat that I have seen in the last several years.”
US officials have also voiced concerns following several recent mass jailbreaks in Pakistan, Iraq and Libya, which they believe were al-Qaeda operations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.