A United States military service member was killed during a terrorism raid in Yemen, officials said Sunday.
The raid also led to the deaths of 14 militants in an Al Qaeda branch in near the Yakla village, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The assault on the terror cell led to “information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots,” the military said.
Three other service members were injured during the raid, and a fourth was injured during a “hard landing” in an aircraft at a nearby location, officials said.
None of the service members has been identified.
The White House mourned the fallen fighter in a statement that included the term “radical Islamic terrorism” — a phrase Democrats have criticized President Trump for using to describe Middle East militants.
“Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism,” the statement on behalf of President Trump said.
“The sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, and the families they leave behind, are the backbone of the liberty we hold so dear as Americans, united in our pursuit of a safer nation and a freer world.”
Yemen is one of seven countries included in Trump’s executive order banning all travelers from entering the United States. The order also prohibits passengers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. All seven countries are predominantly Muslim.
The surprise attack killed three members of the al-Dhahab family, which has been considered an Al Qaeda ally, according to U.S. officials. But it was not immediately clear if those family members — identified as Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab and Seif al-Nims — were Al Qaeda members.
Another member of the family, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed years ago in a U.S. drone strike.
An unidentified Al Qaeda official told the Associated Press the American raid was a “massacre” that claimed the lives of women and children. But the official did not provide evidence of that claim.
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