June 3, 2016
Release Number 20160603-15
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TAMPA,
Fla. – The U.S. military conducted a counterterrorism strike against al-Qa’ida
in the Arabian Peninsula May 19 in the Shabwah Governorate in central Yemen,
killing 4 al-Qa’ida operatives.
This
is the ninth counterterrorism strike conducted by the U.S. military against
AQAP in Yemen in 2016. The Defense Department previously announced a strike
conducted March 22 against an AQAP training camp in Yemen which is assessed to
have killed 56 AQAP operatives. On May 6, CENTCOM also announced four strikes
conducted between April 23-28 against AQAP, which killed 10 al-Qa’ida
operatives and injured one. In addition, CENTCOM can confirm today three
additional and previously unannounced counterterrorism strikes against AQAP in
Yemen:
* A strike Feb. 3 in Shabwah Governorate in
central Yemen, which killed 6 al-Qa’ida operatives
* A strike Feb. 29 in Hadramawt Governorate in
east Yemen, which killed 3 al-Qa’ida operatives
* A strike March 30 in the vicinity of Azzan in
central Yemen, which killed 2 al-Qa’ida operatives
AQAP
remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond.
Al-Qa’ida’s presence has a destabilizing effect on Yemen, and it is using the
unrest in Yemen to provide a haven from which to plan future attacks against
our allies as well as the U.S. and its interests.
The U.S. will not relent in its mission to degrade,
disrupt and destroy al-Qa’ida and its remnants. We remain committed to
defeating AQAP and denying it safe haven regardless of its location. Strikes
conducted by the U.S. in Yemen continue to diminish AQAP’s presence in the
region.