SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni forces, reportedly backed by US drone strikes, hit al Qaeda militants for a second straight day Monday in what Yemen officials said was an assault on a major base of the terror group hidden in the remote southern mountains. The government said 55 militants were killed so far.
The sprawling base was a rare instance of a permanent infrastructure set up by al Qaeda’s branch in the country, Yemeni security officials said. Built over the past months, it includes a training ground, storehouses for weapons and food and vehicles used by the group to launch attacks, they said.
The assault appeared to be a significant escalation in the US and Yemeni campaign against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group’s powerful branch in the southern Arabian nation. The United States has been striking al Qaeda positions in the country heavily with drones the past two years.
But the group has proven highly resilient, spreading around the country and working from mountain areas. In a show of the group’s boldness, a video recently posted on Islamic militant Web sites showed its leader, Nasser al-Wahishi, meeting openly with a gathering of dozens of militants in the southern province of Abyan.
The base is in a remote mountain valley called Wadi al-Khayala in the rugged Mahfad region at the border between Abyan and the neighboring provinces of Shabwa and al-Bayda.
The first strikes came Sunday in an assault on training grounds for the group, a high-level Yemeni security committee said. The Yemeni Interior Ministry said it lasted for several hours.
Yemeni officials and tribal leaders said new strikes, believed to include US drone hits, came Monday. Another airstrike Saturday in al-Bayda killed at least nine militants.
The ministry said in a statement Monday that the strikes the day before had killed at least 55 militants, including three prominent figures. It identified the three as Mohammed Salem Abed Rabbo al-Mashibi, Fawaz Hussein al-Mahrak, and Saleh Said Mahrak. It said identification of the dead was continuing, and that non-Yemeni Arab fighters were among those killed.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said he could not comment on any specific actions.
“But as you know, we have a very strong and collaborative relationship with the Yemeni government. We work closely together with them on various initiatives in the counterterrorism realm,” Army Col. Steve Warren said.
The escalation came after the return from the United States of Yemeni Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed and his commanders following a two-week visit.