A Local Al-Qaeda Leader in Yemen Killed in American Airstrikes

In an attack believed to have been carried out by an American drone, one of Al-Qaeda's leaders along with five of his associates were killed in southern Yemen. At the same time, Yemeni government forces and United Arab Emirates military continue their offensive operations against Al-Qaeda in these areas. According to Reuters, Samih al-Zanjibari, a local commander of Al-Qaeda, and five others were killed when a missile struck their vehicle in the village of Amoudiya, located near Al-Qaeda-controlled cities named Jaar and Zinjibar. Yemeni government forces, along with the UAE army stationed in Aden port, which is 40 kilometers from these areas, have begun ground attacks on Al-Qaeda-controlled cities along the southern coastal strip of Yemen. The Al-Qaeda network in the Arabian Peninsula, which has carried out several thwarted bombings on planes destined for Western airports in recent years and claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, is considered the most dangerous branch of the international Al-Qaeda network. It is unclear whether the recent military operations against this group in southern Yemen have been coordinated with the United States. The U.S. has been conducting drone strikes against this group's positions and commanders throughout Yemen for years. U.S. officials recently stated that they are reviewing the UAE's request for air support, intelligence, and logistical assistance for its military operations against Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen. The UAE is one of the countries in the Saudi-led military coalition that has been conducting military operations against Iranian-backed Houthi forces since March 2015 in support of Yemen's government forces. Due to the power vacuum created since the onset of the war in Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has seized large areas in southern Yemen. In light of this situation, the Saudi-led coalition forces decided earlier this month to launch a large-scale ground offensive from Aden port westward to reclaim a significant portion of the 600-kilometer coastal strip of southern Yemen between Aden and Mukalla from Al-Qaeda control. Mukalla, Yemen's third-largest port, was effectively the capital of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for over a year, and the group amassed considerable wealth by extorting local traders and collecting port taxes. The coalition's offensive towards this city caused Al-Qaeda to retreat from the port on Sunday without any fighting.