Two separate US drone strikes hit Yemen, killing three suspected Al Qaida members
Three suspected members of Al Qaida’s Yemen branch were killed on Sunday by what local officials said they believed were two separate US drone strikes.
If confirmed, they would be the first such attacks since US President Donald Trump assumed office on Friday.
In the first strike two men were killed when a missile hit the vehicle in which they were travelling in the Al Soumaa district of southern al-Bayda province, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The second strike, also on a car in Al Soumaa, killed another man suspected of membership in Al Qaida, according to one official and local tribal leaders.
The United States conducted dozens of drone strikes throughout Barack Obama’s presidency to combat Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded as one of the global militant group’s most dangerous branches.
The Trump administration has not yet laid out a clear policy on drone strikes, but Trump has said that he would support an escalation of the fight against militant groups.
