Yemen: Eight ‘Suspects’ Killed in US Drone Strike

Third Drone Strike Against Hadramout This Week

US drones pounded the Hadramout Province today, according to the Yemeni Defense Ministry, in what would be their third such attack of the week. The strike killed eight people, who the ministry identified as “suspected militants.”

On Tuesday another drone killed two “suspects” in the province in a strike on a pair of vehicles on a highway. On Wednesday, another strike killed four people, including one identified as a moderate Sunni cleric who had no known militant ties.

The US does not generally disclose its drone strikes, except on the rare occasions when it kills a noted militant they actually have a name for. The Defense Ministry officials declined to provide further details on the strike.

President Obama has dramatically escalated the number of drone strikes launched by the US worldwide, killing thousands of people in such strikes in Pakistan and continually escalating the program in Yemen.

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.