Still, the U.S. military was said to have intensified training for the
Yemen Air Force to conduct strike operations. Officials have refused to
provide details.
"I will not discuss any military or intelligence activities there," U.S.
State Department counter-terrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin told the
Saudi-owned Al Hayat daily. "These questions should be directed to the
agencies concerned, but especially to the Yemenis themselves."
On Oct. 14, Al Qaida killed the security chief of the Yemeni city of
Mudia and, hours later, the governor and security director of the Abyan
province survived another AQAP strike. On Oct. 16, two Al Qaida fighters and
two Yemeni soldiers were killed in fighting in Abyan.
Security sources said the Yemen Air Force has renewed operations against
Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). They said the Air Force has employed
the MiG-29 fighter-jet and helicopters to attack Al Qaida strongholds in
southern Yemen.
"The Air Force has been assisted by Western trainers to identify and
track terrorist targets," a security source said.
On Oct. 16-17, MiG-29 aircraft struck suspected AQAP strongholds in the
mountains near Lawder, reportedly killing five operatives. The sources said
more than 100 Al Qaida fighters were
believed to have fled Lawder for the mountains of the Abyan province.
The sources did not report hits of AQAP targets, which included villages
believed to have been taken over by insurgency fighters. They said the air
strikes were resumed amid repeated Al Qaida attacks on military and police
convoys in the Lawder area. Several main battle tanks and armored personnel
carriers were said to have been damaged in the fighting.
"The fighting, which followed the ambush, left several casualties among
the terrorists while the servicemen launched a manhunt in the mountainous
area in search for the assailants who fled the scene," the Yemeni Defense
Ministry said.
The last major operations of the Yemen Air Force took place in December
2009 in provinces near Sanaa. At least six AQAP fighters as well
as 40 civilians were said to have been killed, which unleashed a backlash
against the regime of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
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