Fresh US drone attacks kill about 3 raising death toll to 12 terrorists over 24 hours

Fresh US drone attacks kill about 3 raising death toll to 12 terrorists  over 24 hours

By Nasser Arrabyee,20/01/2013

At least three Al Qaeda operatives were killed by fresh US drone attacks raise the death toll to 12 in the eastern province of Mareb by drones during the last 24 hours.

The new raid targeted a car carrying Al Qaeda operatives in the area of Al Kanaes ( Khanaka) in Abeidah valley Sunday afternoon said local sources.

The sources said that those killed today were not from Mareb, they might have been foreigners or Yemenis from other provinces.

"If they were from Mareb, from Abiedah like yesterday, we would definitely who they were very quickly, now family from Abiedah at least said so far they had someone died," said Abdul Sallam from Abiedah.

A total of 9 charred dead bodies believed to Al Qaeda operatives were buried early morning  Sunday  in two separate places  of Abeidah valley in the eastern province of Mareb, said residents who attended burials.

"The  dead bodies were buried together, because they were chopped into pieces and were so charred that they can not be recognized," said Saeed Al Yousifi from Abiedah. 

Each group was buried nearby the place where the strike happened.  Four were buried in Al Masil and five were buried in Al Shabwan.

The 9 Al Qaeda operatives were killed after US drones implemented at least 4 raids on three different places in the same area of Abiedah valley, where Al Qaeda is always active, late at night of Saturday.

In the first attack, the missiles of the drones hit an orange farm in Al Masil area instead of hitting a car carrying Al Qaeda operatives which was driving nearby the farm.

No one was hurt in the farm but some damages were inflicted on the farm and residents were terrified because the attacks were so close to their houses villages. 

In about an hour after the first raid which happened about 930 pm, the US drones hit and destroyed a car in All Rashid area which is not very far from Al Masil, and both of them are in Abeidah valley. In the car, Ismail Saeed Jamil from Abeidah and three others were killed. 

Locals said that two of these killed with Jamil were Saudi nationals.The slain  Ismail Saeed Jamil was the brother of Al Qaeda leader Ali Saeed Jamil who was killed in Abyan in the middle 2011.

For the third and fourth strikes, they targeted a car in Al Shabwan killing the Al Qaeda leader Ahmed Hassan Gharib and four other aides who were not identified because they were so charred that they can not be recognized.