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U.S drone strike kills four suspected militants, one civilian in Capital

Posted in: Front Page
Written By: Shuaib M. Al Mosawa
Article Date: Jan 26, 2013 - 2:32:47 AM
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THE RUINED CAR WAS CARRYING FOUR AL QAEDA MILITANTS AND ONE CIVILIAN WHEN IT WAS STRUCK BY A U.S. DRONE ON JANUARY 23, 2013. THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN MINUTES AFTER THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE BY A COLLEAGUE STAFF FROM "AL YEMEN AL YAWM" DAILY NEWSPAPER.
A U.S. drone strike killed four suspected militants of Al Qaeda and one civilian on the outskirts of the capital Sana’a on last Wednesday evening, said security sources in the capital.

Khawlan locals said that four militants came from Marib province and rented a car from one Khawlan local called Saleem Muhammed Al Qawili, a security source said based on Khawlan locals’ account.

The militants paid Al Qawili YR 50 thousand to take them to Sana’a. “When they reached an area called Asnaf in Khawlan, the drone struck them along with the driver,” said a security source from Sana’a, quoting deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department in Sana’a.

Khawlan locals said that no one from the suspected militants were known.
Khawlan tribe is now angry over death of its son killed by the US drone, blocked the main road linking Marib and Sana'a.

The U.S. has escalated its drone campaign since 2012 to target suspected militants of Yemen based Al Qaeda, which the U.S. considers the most active of the global militant jihad network.
 
President Abdu Mansoor Hadi has publicly acknowledged allowing U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. While drone attacks have killed a number of Al-Qaeda militants, many civilians have also been killed in Yemen, including women and children.