Yemen: government denies that CIA operative is killed by al Qaeda affiliate
Followers of Ansar al-Sharia, an Al-Qaeda affiliate group in Yemen, are seen in the town of Jaar in southern Abyan province on Jan 25.
The Yemeni government on Friday disputed claims by a local al Qaeda affiliate which said it had attacked and killed a CIA officer in Aden province, according to Reuters.
The news agency cited a text message sent to reporters in which it said Ansar al Sharia wrote: “The mujihadeen killed a CIA officer on Thursday while he was in Aden province after tracking him and determining he was cooperating with the Sanaa government.”
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Reuters cited an unnamed Yemeni security official as saying that a US security team had been attacked yesterday but had taken no casualties.
The official said a gunman had fired on a US security team which was helping train government forces but that no one had been hurt.
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The Obama Administration last month defended its practice of killing suspected terrorists, even US citizens, with the CIA’s unmanned aerial drones, according to CNN.
The CIA in September killed US-born Anwar al-Awlaki with a drone strike in Yemen.
US Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson said in a Feb 22 speech at Yale University that the practice was both justified and legal.
“Belligerents who also happen to be US citizens do not enjoy immunity where non-citizen belligerents are valid military objectives,” Johnson was quoted as saying.