US drone strikes resume in Yemen despite turmoil

SANAA, Yemen (AP) - A U.S. drone strike targeted al-Qaida in Yemen on Monday, signaling Washington's determination to keep fighting the militants despite political paralysis brought on by a Shiite power grab.

Yemeni tribal and security officials in the central province of Marib said the missile hit a vehicle carrying three al-Qaida members near the boundary with Shabwa province, an al-Qaida stronghold. The strike killed two Yemeni fighters and a Saudi, an al-Qaida member told The Associated Press. Of the two Yemenis, one is a teenager whose father and brother were killed in earlier drone strikes, he said.

Despite the renewed drone campaign, Yemeni officials and analysts say an effective U.S.-backed ground strategy against the al-Qaida affiliate has been undermined by the rapid disintegration of the Yemeni armed forces, which has received millions of dollars in U.S. military aid

The prospect of a leaderless Yemen has raised concerns about Washington's ability to continue targeting Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni branch is known. The group claimed the recent attack on a French satirical weekly and has mounted several failed attacks on the U.S. homeland.

The drone strike was the first since Yemen's U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi resigned along with his Cabinet on Thursday rather than agree to the demands by the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, for more power. The Houthis continue to hold Hadi and his government ministers under house arrest, and what comes next is unclear.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren stressed on Monday that the counter-terrorism operation will continue, including training of Yemeni forces, though "they are curtailed in some cases." He did not give details.

According to other U.S. officials, intelligence gathering has not been curtailed or shifted to other countries.

And although the Houthis chant anti-American slogans, one hopeful sign for Washington is that they are also staunch opponents of al-Qaida.

Nevertheless, experts said that both ground operations and intelligence gathering will suffer in addition to the loss of a faithful partner in Hadi. Yemen's president was a vocal proponent for the U.S. war against al-Qaida, saying at one point that he approved each strike at a time.

"Hadi was an extraordinary important," said Bill Roggio, the managing editor of Long War Journal, which tracks militant groups' activities. "He made it easy to cooperate with Yemeni military and intelligence. His loss is a major loss for U.S. side." Roggio added that the "upheaval will make it more and more difficult to get intelligence.

The Houthis, who seized the capital of Sanaa in September, say they want their fair share of power, which they feel they have been denied. Shiites make up one-third of Yemen's population.

Critics say the Houthis want to retain Hadi as a figurehead president and that they want to rule the country from behind the scenes. They also accuse the Houthis of being a proxy of Iran, an allegation the rebels deny.

Over the past several weeks, Houthi rebels overran the presidential palace, military camps and air force bases and occupied security and intelligence offices in the capital, Sanaa.

It's unclear how the Houthis' takeover would impact on the drone operation, according to a top Yemeni security official.