US Drone strike kills 4 in al-Qaeda hotbed

Al-Qaeda militants at a mosque in Rada’a town pay homage to Tariq al-Dhahab. ©maktoobblog.com

Four suspected al-Qaeda members were killed in an apparent US drone attack while driving in an area known as a hotbed for al-Qaeda activity, 150 kilometers southeast of the Yemeni capital Sana’a, a local source from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Dhahab tribe said.

Local news site Mareb Press also reported that two al-Qaeda members were killed in a U.S. drone attack in al-Baitha’a province.

The Al Qaeda militants were seen earlier in Khabza area, al-Baitha’a province in a car driving towards al-Manasih village, the al-Dhahab stronghold. The source described al-Manasih village as safe heaven for many al-Qaeda members.

The local source said the drone attack was in al-Sailah, a valley between Khabza and al-Manasih : “All the bodies were charred.” Locals at Khabsa had identified the four al-Qaeda members as two from Abyan, one from Marib, and another could not be identified.

Al-Manasih is 15 kilometers away from the town of Rada’a, briefly controlled last January by members of the al-Dhahab tribe and supported by a number of al-Qaeda militants, before they were driven out by a government-backed rival tribe in the same month.

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