Pentagon: Over 30 airstrikes against Al Qaeda in two straight nights this week
(FOX)- For the second consecutive night, US drones and jets continued striking Al Qaeda militants in Yemen, in a sign the Trump administration is ramping up operations as part of a broader campaign against the terrorist group long considered the biggest threat to the United States.
The U.S. military has conducted over 30 airstrikes against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula across three provinces in Yemen, according to Capt. Jeff Davis a Pentagon spokesman. It is not immediately clear if those airstrikes continued Friday night.
According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Long War Journal, the U.S. military has averaged 30 airstrikes a year since 2012. In only two nights this week, the U.S. military has already the five-year average.
The new American airstrikes in Yemen come weeks after a Navy SEAL raid in Yemen on Jan. 29 which resulted in the death of Senior Chief Petty Officer Ryan Owens, a member of the elite SEAL Team Six unit who carried out the operation. Since the raid, critics have called it a failure. On Friday, the Pentagon pushed back.
During a briefing with reporters, a US defense official said the intelligence gathered from the Navy SEAL raid on Jan 29 is “potentially actionable,” which could thwart future terrorist attacks.