At least 12 al Qaeda militants, including one wanted by the United States, were killed in a drone strike in southern Yemen, a tribal leader said in what he called one of the biggest U.S. strikes against the group.
Residents said the unidentified drone attacked the militants overnight who were travelling in two vehicles east of the city of Lawdar in Abyan provice, apparently after a meeting of local al Qaeda leaders.
The tribal leader in the area told Reuters that at between 12 and 15 people were killed in the attack, including at least four leaders or prominent figures in a local Yemeni branch of al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
One of them was identified by local tribal leaders as Abdel-Munem al-Fatahani, wanted by the United States for alleged links to attacks on the US destroyer Cole in 2000
and a French oil tanker in 2002, tribal sources said.
Fatahani had survived at least two previous assassination attempts in recent years, they said.
A spokesman for al Qaeda confirmed the strike but said only three members were killed and two were wounded. There was no immediate comment from Washington.
Residents said no civilians were hurt in the strike."This can be considered as one of the biggest American strikes because it targeted a large number of al Qaeda leaders
at the same time," the tribal leader, who declined to be identified, told Reuters by telephone.
"Unlike in previous attacks, this one seems to have achieved its goals and, unlike previous attacks, it did not result in civilian casualties."
Some previous attacks have caused large numbers of civilian casualties. In one of the deadliest strikes in late 2009, more than 40 civilians, including women and children, died in an air strike which Washington said targeted al Qaeda.
Reuters