US forces kill dozens of Daesh fighters in Yemen

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON

U.S. forces killed dozens of Daesh militants in a strike on two of its training camps in Yemen’s al Bayda governorate, the Pentagon said Monday.

“ISIS used the camps to train militants to conduct terror attacks using AK-47s, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and endurance training,” it said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

The Pentagon did not describe how the strikes were conducted, but the Associated Press has claimed that drones were used during the strikes.

Daesh has used ungoverned spaces of Yemen to plot, direct, instigate, supply and recruit for attacks against America and its allies around the world, the statement said, adding Yemen has been a hub for terrorist recruiting, training and transit for years.

"In coordination with the government of Yemen, U.S. forces are supporting ongoing counterterrorism operations in Yemen against ISIS and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to degrade the groups' ability to coordinate external terror attacks and limit their ability to hold territory seized from the legitimate government of Yemen," it added.