US forces have used a drone to kill an al-Qaeda terrorist commander and another member of the group in Yemen's Marib province, Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV reported.
According to its sources, the US struck a motorcycle in the Al-Wadi area of Marib province on Saturday evening using a drone. The motorcycle was carrying al-Qaeda commander Munir Bajli al-Ahdal, also known as Abu al-Hajja al-Hadidi, and his unnamed companion. According to Yemeni journalist Mohammed bin Faisal, Al-Ahdal is considered one of the key commanders of Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The regional group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, previously considered by the United States to be the most dangerous branch of the terrorist organization, has strengthened in Yemen amid more than a decade of conflict between government forces and Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement, who control about a third of the country's territory.