Yemeni unrest will not affect US war on Al-Qaeda

The United States will not halt or suspend its drone war on Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen as a result of the continuous unrest and dominance of Houthi rebels of the country, Al-Araby Al-Jadid has reported.

“The political instability in Yemen has not forced us to suspend counterterrorism operations. We will continue to take action to disrupt the continuing, imminent threats to the United State and our citizens,” said American National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey.

Pentagon Spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby also stated that: “We recognise we need to get a much better understanding of where things are going politically in Yemen before we can make any new decisions or move forward in any significant way on counter-terrorism.”

“It would be wrong to conclude that the United States had stopped focusing on the terrorist threat in Yemen or that we will not take action if and when necessary,” he added.

Baskey also reiterated US support for “Yemeni security forces”, while Kirby affirmed that the military had “temporarily put on hold some training with the Yemenis”.

Kirby hailed the US-Yemeni joint efforts in counterterrorism and confirmed that there are American troops currently in Yemeni waters, but refused to give details about their numbers.

The Guardian said that the CIA had declined comment regarding the impact of the Yemeni government collapse on its mission.