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Post by beth on Feb 2, 2017 12:21:48 GMT -5
US military officials: Trump-ordered raid in Yemen that killed US Navy SEAL was approved 'without sufficient intelligence'
AIR FORCE BASE, Delaware — The US military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on Al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
US Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens died in the raid on a branch of Al Qaeda, also known as AQAP, in al Bayda province, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants. Medics at the scene, however, said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.
US Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had "concluded regrettably that civilian noncombatants were likely killed" during Sunday's raid. It added that children may have been among the casualties.
Central Command said its assessment "seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight."
US military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations.
As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced Al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger-than-expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists.
The Pentagon directed queries about the officials' characterization of the raid to US Central Command, which pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.
The US officials said the extremists' base had been identified as a target before the Obama administration left office on January 20, but President Barack Obama held off approving a raid ahead of his departure.
A White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January. The raid was delayed for operational reasons, the White House official said.
The military officials who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said "a brutal firefight" took the lives of Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children. One of the dead was the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a militant killed by a 2011 US drone strike.
Some of the women were firing at the US force, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
more
www.businessinsider.com/us-military-officials-trump-ordered-raid-in-yemen-that-killed-us-navy-seal-was-approved-without-sufficient-intelligence-2017-2
note: Business Insider required me to violate my ad-block for this article, so appreciate it.
They now want 10$ a mo. which I'm not going to go along with.
AIR FORCE BASE, Delaware — The US military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on Al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
US Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens died in the raid on a branch of Al Qaeda, also known as AQAP, in al Bayda province, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants. Medics at the scene, however, said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.
US Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had "concluded regrettably that civilian noncombatants were likely killed" during Sunday's raid. It added that children may have been among the casualties.
Central Command said its assessment "seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight."
US military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup preparations.
As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced Al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger-than-expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists.
The Pentagon directed queries about the officials' characterization of the raid to US Central Command, which pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.
The US officials said the extremists' base had been identified as a target before the Obama administration left office on January 20, but President Barack Obama held off approving a raid ahead of his departure.
A White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January. The raid was delayed for operational reasons, the White House official said.
The military officials who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said "a brutal firefight" took the lives of Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children. One of the dead was the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a militant killed by a 2011 US drone strike.
Some of the women were firing at the US force, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
more
www.businessinsider.com/us-military-officials-trump-ordered-raid-in-yemen-that-killed-us-navy-seal-was-approved-without-sufficient-intelligence-2017-2
note: Business Insider required me to violate my ad-block for this article, so appreciate it.
They now want 10$ a mo. which I'm not going to go along with.
