US Kills Two in Yemen Drone Strike

First Attack Since Wedding Convoy Debacle

The US drone strike today in Yemen was the first since one in the middle of the month which targeted a wedding convoy, killing 15 civilians. Today’s attack targeted a car in Hadramawt Province.

The strike destroyed a car, killing two people within. Neither were identified, but both were predictably labeled “al-Qaeda suspects” by the Yemeni government.

The Yemeni government has routinely called everyone killed in US strikes “suspects,” though almost none have been named, and was also quick to label the wedding convoy an al-Qaeda convoy before the truth came out.

The drone strikes largely target Yemen’s countryside, and locals have warned that the large number of civilian casualties are bringing considerable support to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), since they are seen as the primary opponent to the US in the area.

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.