A US raid in Yemen killed 41 suspected al Qaeda militants and 16 civilians on Sunday, an official said, in what would be America’s first military action in the country under President Donald Trump. Sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda, adding that an unspecified number of civilians were also killed. The military operation is the first to be attributed to the United States against jihadists in Yemen since Trump took office on January 20. Under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan. The United States considers the extremist group’s Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.

Source: Hindustan Times January 29, 2017 10:46 UTC