Apr. 1, 2019

Release Number 20190401-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command conducted 8 total air strikes in Yemen in 2019 targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

CENTCOM conducted two air strikes in January and six airstrikes in March. The January air strikes took place in Marib and Al Bayda Governates respectively. The March airstrikes took place in Al Bayda Governate.

All strikes this year targeted AQAP terrorists. The Jan. 1 strike targeted Jamal al-Badawi, one of the planners involved in the USS Cole bombing.

“In coordination with the government of Yemen, U.S. forces continue to support ongoing counterterrorism operations against AQAP and ISIS-Y to disrupt and destroy militants’ attack-plotting efforts, networks, and freedom of maneuver within the region,” said Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a CENTCOM spokesman.

CENTCOM does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, the number of individual munition impact points against a target, or the organization of U.S. forces