US ramps up bombing campaign in Yemen
By
Niles Niemuth
6 March 2017
In a major escalation of operations in Yemen, the US military carried out more than 30 airstrikes and drone strikes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, hitting multiple targets allegedly linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). As many as 20 people were reported killed in the attacks, which hit the southern governorates of Shabwa, Al Bayda and Abyan.
The multi-day bombardment was the heaviest so far in the undeclared US war in Yemen, which has killed or injured more than 1,700 people, including hundreds of women and children, since 2009. According to a tally maintained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the US has carried out a least 390 attacks in the last eight years.
Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters on Friday that more airstrikes would be forthcoming: “US forces will continue to target AQAP militants and facilities in order to disrupt the terrorist organization’s plots and ultimately to protect American lives.”
Last week’s offensive was the first major military operation by the US in the country since the raid on January 29 by US Special Forces that killed as many as 30 civilians, including 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the US citizen and Islamist cleric assassinated by the Obama administration in 2011. The raid resulted in the death of Navy SEAL William (Ryan) Owens and left three other soldiers wounded.
Trump used the presence of Owens’ widow, Caryn Owens, at his address to a joint session of Congress last week to defend the murderous operation and promote American militarism, praising her husband as “a warrior and a hero.”
The string of attacks since January marks a definite intensification by the Trump…