U.S. air strike in Yemen reportedly kills top al Qaeda militantMay 8, 2015 - 12:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. air strike in Yemen has reportedly killed Nasser al-Ansi, a top militant of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula. Site Intelligence, a U.S. militant monitoring group, cites an AQAP statement as saying Ansi was killed in April in the port city of Mukalla, BBC News reports. There was no U.S. confirmation. Ansi had appeared in a number of AQAP videos. In one, he claimed the group was behind the attack on the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January, in which 12 people died. Site also said Ansi appeared in videos claiming AQAP was holding - and had then killed - the American journalist Luke Somers. Somers, and South African teacher Pierre Korkie, were killed by al Qaeda militants in Yemen last December. They died during a failed rescue bid by U.S. and Yemeni special forces. Site said Ansi's eldest son and other fighters also died in the air strike in Mukalla. Al Qaeda seized Mukalla, the capital of the eastern Hadramawt province, in early April, along with a large army base nearby. Dozens of Aqap members were freed from the city's prison. But within three days, most al Qaeda troops had been forced out of the port city by local tribesmen. In another video, Ansi called for Sunni Muslims to attack Houthi forces, who took over large parts of Yemen last September. A Saudi-led coalition has been taking part in air strikes against Houthis for the last six weeks. Last month, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Aqap were "making direct gains on the ground" in Yemen thanks to instability elsewhere in the country. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |