Yemen: 43 Suspects Killed as Shelling Continues in South

Military Claims Unspecified 'US Help' in Operation

The Yemeni military is reporting today that they have claimed 43 “suspects” in the last 48 hours. the result of sustained shelling of the town of Huroor along the border between the Lahj and Abyan Provinces.

The shelling is a retaliation for weekend fighting in the region, which included an attack by the Ansar al-Sharia against a military checkpoint between the provinces, killing 28 soldiers and capturing 15 others, who were publicly executed the following day.

Yemen’s military also reported in the statement that the attacks of the past 48 hours were carried out “with US help,” though they gave no indication what that help was and naturally, the US hasn’t reported on its involvement at all.

One can imagine though that the US, which has been constantly escalating its drone war in Yemen, likely played at a minimum a role of surveillance of the town, and potentially also fired some of the rockets against it as well.

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.