Aircraft launch attacks on suspected al Qaeda targets in Yemen
Military forces believed to be American launched two attacks on suspected al Qaeda targets in southern Yemen overnight on Friday in what would be the second consecutive day of US raids, witnesses said.
Backed by drones and Apache helicopter, the troops descended on the Wadi Yashbum village in Shabwa province after midnight and engaged suspected al Qaeda militants in a battle that lasted nearly half an hour, the residents said.
One of the targets was the home of Saad Atef, an al Qaeda leader in the area.
The assault included about 10 to 15 airstrikes, some of which hit civilian homes, the residents said. A number of civilians were among the wounded, they added.
Fragments from the strikes hit the home of local southern leader Naser al-Nouba, who told newspaper Aden Press he was about 100m away from the fighting.
