A drone attack by the United States injured three people this Tuesday in Al Bayda, a province with a presence of Al Qaeda in southeastern Yemen, in the first such incursion in two years, according to Yemeni security sources. The attack targeted a pickup truck in the Assawmaah district, in Al Bayda, 170 kilometers southeast of the capital, Sana'a, a region that hosts a base of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), considered by the U.S. as the most dangerous branch of the terrorist network.
The authorities did not confirm the identity of the injured nor their relation to AQAP. The affected region of Assawmaah, between the provinces of Al Bayda and Abyan, serves as a refuge for AQAP and provides natural cover for its militants, despite much of the area being under the control of Houthi Shiite rebels since 2022.
This attack occurs in the context of ongoing offensives led by the U.S. against Houthi targets aligned with Iran in the northwest of the country and in strategic areas of the port of Al Hodeida, in the Red Sea. On Monday, seven airstrikes led by U.S. forces hit Houthi targets in Harf Sufian, in Amran province, while two additional strikes targeted positions in Al Safra, Saada, according to local Houthi media.
The terrorist group AQAP has taken advantage of the instability and security vacuum in Yemen to strengthen its foothold in central and southern regions of the country. Since 2002, the U.S. has launched hundreds of attacks against AQAP in Yemen, in an attempt to weaken its presence and operational capability in remote areas of the country; however, tribal alliances and rugged geography have allowed the group to maintain strongholds.
In the first two months of 2023, U.S. drone strikes eliminated two AQAP members in the oil-rich region of Marib, in the central west of Yemen.
