Al Qaeda casualties in south Yemen airstrikes

Yemeni air force carried out raids on Thursday on Jaar Local sources in Abyan province in southern Yemen have  reported  the killing and wounding  of 12 gunmen belonging to al-Qaeda. The sources told Arabstoday that the Yemeni air force carried out raids on Thursday on areas where elements of al-Qaeda are known to be hiding out near Jaar, the province\'s second largest city.  The attacks killed nine al-Qaeda  gunmen and injured three others.
The sources explained that two air raids targetted a location known to harbour the al Qaeda-linked group called Ansar al-Sharia near Jaar city which has been dominated by al-Qaeda since March, 2011.  They claimed  that  al-Qaeda had removed the dead from the area of the attack for burial. However, eyewitnesses in Jaar claimed that the air strikes were carried out by US drones as part of  the American campaign to eliminate terrorism in Yemen.
Western diplomatic sources in Sanaa told Arabstoday that Washington is continuing its pursuit of militants on Yemeni soil The same sources pointed confirmed that the US is determined to intensify its operations against al-Qaeda, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, to reduce al-Qaeda’s growing power and danger, adding that there is a major American interest in ending the division in the Yemeni army, which, the US believes,  is the main reason behind the spread of the al-Qaeda threat in the country.