AQAP 2017

In the first confirmed US raid under Donald Trump's presidency, at least 14 militants were killed in Yemen, along with a US soldier and several civilians. US Central Command confirmed the raid, saying one US soldier died and three were injured, while 14 militants were killed. An al Qaeda member, speaking to the Associated Press, described the attack as a "massacre" and said women and children had been killed. The member of the terror group sent photos purportedly showing the bloodied bodies of several children allegedly killed in the raid.

Richard Atwood, Director of Crisis Group's New York Office, wrote "The Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda (AQ) is stronger than it has ever been. As the country’s civil war has escalated and become regionalised, its local franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is thriving in an environment of state collapse, growing sectarianism, shifting alliances, security vacuums and a burgeoning war economy. Reversing this trend requires ending the conflict that set it in motion. This means securing an overarching political settlement that has buy-in from the country’s diverse constituencies, including Sunni Islamists."