Al-Qaeda cleared by US-UAE offensive in Yemen

A US-backed operation in southern Yemen has cleared Al-Qaeda from the area, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat has reported. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is aid to have been defeated by a major operation in Shabwa province by US troops fighting alongside those from the UAE and the 2,000-strong Shabwami forces.

The local militia forces are made up of tribesmen from Shabwa province. They were trained by the US in Mukalla, Hadramaut province. There is no indication that Saudi Arabia collaborated in the operation against AQAP.

Read: US troops are fighting alongside UAE and Yemeni forces

The extremist group’s strong presence has attracted an increasing number of US targeted drone strikes in southern Yemen. President Donald Trump created new rules that permit the US to engage in limited-term military action by designating parts of Yemen as “temporary battlefields”, thus allowing American troops’ involvement without any Congressional oversight.