Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took control of the base and captured several soldiers in Shabwa province as the Shia Houthis tighten their grip on the capital and the US and Britain shutter their embassies.
According to Yemeni officials, the strike targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were preparing to launch an attack in the southern province of Shabwa.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirmed that Shawki Ali Ahmed al Badani and Nabil al Dhahab were killed in yesterday’s drone strike in central Yemen. Badani was wanted by the US for plotting to attack US embassies.
The US drone strike in central Yemen coincides with an offensive by Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who are fighting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The strike in Shabwa reportedly killed an AQAP military commander.
Ahmed Abdulrahman Sihab Ahmed Sihab, who is also known as Abdulrahman al Sharqi, is a senior leader in the al Qaeda council assigned to attack the West and a specially designated global terrorist. Jihadists on Twitter have reported that he was killed, but his death has not been confirmed.
The Islamic State raised the black flag of jihad in Hit and attacked military headquarters in Ramadi and at Al Asad Airbase in the latest phase of its offensive to consolidate control of Anbar province.
The strike, the second in two days, took place in a northern province where top al Qaeda leaders have been targeted and killed in the past.
Influential jihadists said that Sufyan al Maghribi, a Moroccan who served as al Qaeda’s military chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Umar al Talib, a propagandist who narrated videos for As Sahab, have been killed in airstrikes.
Five AQAP fighters, including a Saudi and an individual who shares the nom de guerre of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s emir for Mahfad, are reported to have been killed in the first drone strike since mid-August.
Qaraqosh, as well as Tal Kayf, Bartella, and Karamlesh, fell to the Islamic State after Kurdish Peshmerga abandoned the towns without a fight.
Abu Yusuf al Masri, a leader in Albu Kamal, swore allegiance to a senior “Chechen” commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. The move could strengthen ISIS’ hold on the Iraq-Syrian border.
The video shows several police and armored military vehicles that are abandoned, burning, or torched, and large numbers of Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters moving on the streets.
A local Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander known as Jafar al Shabwani is said to have been killed in a strike in the AQAP stronghold of Wadi Abida.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a eulogy for the fallen emir of Mahfad, Ali bin Lakraa’ al Kazimi al Awlaki, who was killed by a US drone strike in late April.
A bomb expert from the Russian Republic of Dagestan was also reported to have been killed during the Yemeni military offensive in the south.
Ibrahim al Asiri is said to be the target of a drone strike that hit a vehicle. The day before, another US and Yemeni attack killed more than 30 AQAP fighters at a training camp.
Two Australian citizens believed to have been fighting alongside al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the Nov. 19, 2013 US airstrike in Yemen’s Hadramout province. Both are considered low-level AQAP fighters.
Three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed in a strike on a camp that was recently featured in the terror group’s propaganda.
The strike killed a local al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula military commander known as Moajab bin Aziz, as well as his bodyguard. The US has launched four drone strikes in Yemen since the beginning of March.
The Yemeni media identified the two AQAP commanders killed in last night’s strike in Marib province as Ebad Mobarak Al Shabwani and Ja’afar Mohammad Jaber Al Shabwani.
An al Qaeda commander in northern Yemen known as Ali Juraym was killed in the strike. He previously fought for al Qaeda in Iraq.