U.S. special operations personnel will remain in Yemen despite the deteriorating security situation.
A defense official told CNN Wednesday that counter-terrorism operations will continue, even though Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi stepped down as Yemen’s president and the U.S. Embassy in Yemen has shuttered.
Houthi rebels forced Mr. Hadi to step down as president on Jan. 22 when the presidential palace was taken over, and the parliament was disbanded soon afterward. Embassies for the United Kingdom and France also closed Wednesday due to the chaos.
“I’d say there’s no question as a result of the political instability in Yemen that our counter-terrorism capabilities” have been affected, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Tuesday, CNN reported. “We’re watching the situation very closely, and we’re monitoring it every single day, if not every single hour.”
Yemen is a hotbed of activity for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Most recently, the group took credit for the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 12 on Jan. 7.
“Congratulations to you, the nation of Islam, for this revenge that has soothed our pain,” Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, said in response to the attack on the satirical newspaper, The Associated Press reported.
SEE ALSO: Yemen’s Houthi rebels seize U.S. Marines’ weapons at airport
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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