Drone attack kills 7 civilians in southeastern Yemen

By Gulsen Topcu

SHABWAH, Yemen (AA) - At least seven civilians were killed on Saturday in a drone airstrike in southeastern Yemen, health officials said.

A drone, which is thought to belong to the U.S., targeted a vehicle carrying seven civilians in Said district of southeastern Shabwah province.

According to local sources, six people were members of a same family.

They were targeted when they were on their way back after recovering a 14-year-old boy from the captivity of Al-Qaeda group, the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

Separately, Yemen army downed a drone belonging to Houthis in southwestern Taiz province.

According to the military sources cited by Yemeni army website 26sepnews.net, the army troops downed a drone carrying out reconnaissance activities on Jarrah Mountain in northern Taiz to locate Yemeni army positions.

Yemen’s Shabwah province is comprised of 17 districts, 15 of which are currently held by government forces while much of the province’s Bihan directorate and parts of Asilan remain under the control of the Houthis and their allies.

Yemen has remained locked in a civil war since 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia group overran much of the country including capital Sanaa, forcing Yemen’s Saudi-backed government to set up an interim capital in the coastal city of Aden.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi military gains in Yemen.

According to UN figures, more than 10,000 people -- including numerous civilians -- have been killed as a direct result of the conflict.