In addition to the updated strike total for Yemen, the response is interesting as it notes that AQAP operatives are not the only target of the air campaign: the US military is hitting the entirety of the network.
The US military has stepped up its campaign against AQAP, but has not been forthcoming about its targeting of the group as it has in Somalia.
Today’s launch comes less than a week after a similar ballistic missile launch directed at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
Saturday’s launch shows that ballistic missiles launched from Houthi-held territory in Yemen continue to be a threat to Saudi Arabia and the wider area.
The insurgent leader said that his forces will take part in any future conflict with Israel alongside Hezbollah. The statement comes on the heels of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah pledging Shiite forces from around the Middle East and South Asia would be involved.
CENTCOM announced today that Abu Khattab al Awlaqi, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s emir for the Shabwah province in Yemen, was killed along with two associates in a June 16 airstrike that targeted “terrorist compounds and attack networks in Yemen.”
The operation took place just days after the US Treasury Department listed two tribal leaders from Marib as global terrorists for supporting al Qaeda.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
