ADEN: At least four suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed on Friday in a presumed US drone strike in Yemen’s central Al-Bayda province, a local government source said.
The strike took place in the district of Rada’a and killed the local Al-Qaeda leader there and three others, the government source told Reuters. Tribal sources put the death toll at five.
A tribal source told AFP the early morning strike on a vehicle travelling in Manasseh village killed Qaeed Al-Dhahab and two other men.
Witnesses confirmed the death of Dhahab, a military chief of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who had previously fought with the group in Iraq.
The tribal source said Dhahab was killed just hours after his marriage on Thursday. He was the brother of Tarek Al-Dhahab, an AQAP leader who in January 2012 with other militants briefly overran the town of Radah in Bayda province before being killed by Yemeni troops.
Seen as a high-profile AQAP leader, Qaeed Al-Dhahab was also the brother-in-law of Yemeni-born American cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki, a key figure in AQAP who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
Top Al-Qaeda militant, 3 aides taken out in Yemen drone strike
Top Al-Qaeda militant, 3 aides taken out in Yemen drone strike
Trump still eyes Turkiye jet deal despite Israel objections
- The United States booted Turkiye from development of the F-35, a top-of-the-line stealth plane, in 2019 after the NATO ally went ahead with purchases of missile defense from Russia
PALM BEACH, United States: US President Donald Trump said Monday he was considering selling top-end F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye, during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who adamantly opposes the move.
“We’re thinking about it very seriously,” Trump said when asked about an F-35 deal for Turkiye as he met Netanyahu at the US leader’s Florida club.
The United States booted Turkiye from development of the F-35, a top-of-the-line stealth plane, in 2019 after the NATO ally went ahead with purchases of missile defense from Russia.
Trump, however, has warm relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite the veteran Islamist-rooted leader’s fiery denunciations of Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza.
Israeli policymakers argue that F-35s would benefit Turkiye in a potential war. Israel and Turkiye are at odds over war-ravaged Syria, which neighbors both countries.
Asked about the potential for conflict between Israel and Turkiye, Trump called Erdogan “a very good friend.”
“We’re not going have a problem,” Trump said of Israel and Turkiye. “Nothing’s going to happen.”
Trump in his first term also agreed to sell F-35s to the United Arab Emirates after it recognized Israel.
He more recently voiced support for F-35 sales to Saudi Arabia, despite longstanding US policy that Israel must have a military edge over potential regional adversaries.
