The U.S. military says a service member has been killed and three others wounded in a raid in Yemen targeting a local al-Qaeda affiliate.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a “hard landing” in a nearby location. The U.S. service member killed in the raid is the first to die under President Donald Trump’s administration.
It added that the aircraft was unable to fly afterward and “was then intentionally destroyed in place.”
Some 41 fighters from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members captured “information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots.”
Yemeni security and tribal officials say the assault in central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members,” said Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel, NBC News reported. “The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe,” he said.
