DUBAI: The Yemeni president has arrived for a visit in the United Arab Emirates, one of the key backers of a Saudi-led coalition attempting to roll back gains by Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in the deeply impoverished country.
State news agency WAM says exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi arrived Wednesday for a two-day working visit. Officials had no further details.
Hadi has been living in neighboring Saudi Arabia after he and much of his government fled advances by the Shiite Houthi rebels earlier this year.
The Emirates has been participating in a Saudi-led, American-supported campaign targeting the rebels and their allies since March. It and Saudi Arabia have supplied pro-government forces with tanks and other fighting vehicles, and the Emirates has lost soldiers as part of the campaign.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Military and security officials in Yemen say a suspected U.S. drone strike has killed five suspected al-Qaida militants traveling in a vehicle near the extremist-held coastal city of Mukalla.
The officials said the attack Wednesday happened east of the city. Al-Qaida’s Yemen branch, considered by Washington to be the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, has made gains in the sprawling eastern Hadramawt province, capturing its capital, Mukalla, in April.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Al-Qaida has made advances amid the civil war now engulfing Yemen. Washington meanwhile has kept up its drone attacks there targeting al-Qaida militants, including one that killed the group’s top leader in Mukalla in June.