Yemen Airstrikes Hit Abyan Province, Killing 15

Officials Initially Claimed Attacks Were US Drone Strikes

Airstrikes against southern Yemen’s Abyan Province hit three targets today, killing at least 15 people and wounding 17 others. All of the slain were termed “suspected al-Qaeda” by the Yemeni government.

Exactly who launched the attacks is unclear, however. Initial reports from Yemeni officials termed the attacks “US drone strikes” but this was later changed, and reported to be attacks by Yemeni warplanes.

This is par for the course for attacks in Yemen, of course, as the Saleh government has in the past “taken credit” for US missile strikes to spare the Obama Administration embarrassment when it is inevitably revealed that some of the slain were civilians.

The Abyan Province has for months been under the control of a faction calling itself Ansar al-Sharia. The group has been accused of being in league with the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula faction.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.