U.S. carries out strikes in Yemen targeting al Qaeda -U.S. officials

The United States has carried out air strikes in Yemen targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, in what could one of the first operations since a January raid by U.S. commandos against the group.
The officials did not immediately provide further information. President Donald Trump, citing information from his defense secretary, told Congress on Tuesday that the January raid had yielded valuable intelligence that would “lead to many more victories in the future.”
A senior U.S. official said earlier that day the intelligence collected provided insight into AQAP’s explosives manufacturing, targeting, training and recruitment practices.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that such insight was particularly important given the threat that AQAP has long posed.
The January raid, the first of its kind authorized by Trump, has been controversial in the United States with the White House calling it a success while critics cited the death of a Navy SEAL, as well as women and children, and the loss of a U.S. aircraft.
AQAP boasts one of the world’s most feared bomb makers, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, and it has been a persistent concern to the U.S. government ever since a 2009 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.