ADEN, Yemen -- The death toll of multiple U. S. drone strikes launched on Sunday against a training camp of al- Qaida militants in Yemen's southern province of Abyan has risen to 30 while leaving many others injured, a senior official told Xinhua.
The U.S. drone struck a training camp and convoy composed of four vehicles carrying armed terrorists with multiple air strikes in Abyan, killing up to 30 al-Qaida militants and injuring dozens others, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.
The early morning attacks on al-Qaida's training sites took place in Abyan's mountainous region of Mahfad, and resulted in dozens being killed and many injured, including local commanders of the terrorist group, the source said.
"The death toll from the U.S. drone airstrikes has risen to 30, " another security official in Abyan told Xinhua anonymously, updating the earlier death toll of 5.
Military helicopter gunships of the Yemeni air forces were still continuing shelling in Mahfad's valley and Azzan region in neighboring Shabwa province, considered bastions of al-Qaida militants, he added.
An official of intelligence department in Abyan confirmed to Xinhua that "there are confirmed reports that dozens of terrorists including some important commanders and foreigners were killed during the intensified bombing."
The Supreme Security Committee in Yemen issued a statement saying that "multiple successful air strikes targeted al-Qaida hideouts killing dozens of foreign and Yemeni militants in a rugged region between Abyan and Shabwa provinces."
