Saudi Arabia has assisted the US in its “secret war” against Al-Qaeda members in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has assisted the US in its “secret war” against Al-Qaeda members in Yemen, The Times English newspaper reported Thursday.
The daily said the Saudi Air Force provided fighter jets for the so-called drone missions in the Arabian Peninsula.
“Some of the so-called drone missions are actually Saudi Air Force missions,” the newspaper cited a US intelligence official, whose name was not given in the report.
The Times added that 228 people were killed by covert attacks last year in Yemen, the home of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The disclosure may now stir more criticism against US activity in Yemen as well as provoke questions about the lawfulness of America’s covert drone campaign against Al-Qaeda.
The US escalated drone strikes in the region under a policy adopted by the Obama Administration in April. The so-called “signature strikes” eventually allows launching strikes against ‘terrorist targets’ even if the identities of the suspects are unknown.
The newspaper stated that Washington considers the legal problems triggered by the capture and detention of enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay have “become so onerous that the Pentagon has recast its orders.”
"There is no kill or capture anymore. It's kill or kill," a US official told The Times.
However, American drone strikes remain deeply controversial and critics point to cases of innocent civilian casualties which have become more frequent as well as drone attacks under the “signature strikes” policy.
Since the adoption of the expanded policy, the US has targeted buildings, vehicles and people relying on so-called activity patterns from satellites and insiders.
According to data from the Long War Journal, at least 35 civilians have been killed in the attacks in the last 12 months.
Since 2009 bombings by remote-controlled US drones in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia have tripled, bringing the number to 300, Reuters news agency reported. During the entire Bush administration, there were just 51.
