Fourteen al Qaeda militants and one United States commando were killed in a raid carried out by the US military on Sunday in southern Yemen – the first such operation authorised by President Donald Trump. Although the Pentagon denied any civilian casualties, Reuters reported that around 30 people were killed during the raid.
Al Qaeda leader Abdulraoof al-Dhahab was killed in the mission after a drone bombed his house. In an SMS on messaging service Telegram, the terror outfit mourned the death of their leader and other slain militants. It did not specify the number of militants killed. Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki’s 8-year-old daughter was one of the civilians killed in the raid.
In a statement, the US president hailed the operation as a success and said the intelligence gathered during the operation would help the country fight terrorism. He further said that Americans were “saddened” by the death of a service member who was fighting against “the evil radical Islamic terrorism”.
“The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe,” said Commander of US Central Command General Joseph Votel. Three US troops were injured after an aircraft used in the operation made a hard landing. Since the aircraft was unable to fly after the landing, it had to be intentionally destroyed, reported CNN.
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