Yemen denies it has banned US commando raids

Published February 8, 2017 2:27pm ET



The Yemeni government denied that it has suspended permission for American special operations forces to run missions in their country.

The Associated Press reported Yemen Foreign Minister Abdul-Malik al-Mekhlafi said on Wednesday that reports that operations were suspended following a raid that killed multiple civilians and one Navy SEAL were not true.

“Yemen continues to cooperate with the United States and continues to abide by all the agreements, ” he said.

He added Yemen “is involved in talks with the U.S. administration on the latest raid.”

The Yemeni government has asked for a review of the mission on Jan. 28. Fourteen al Qaeda militants were killed in the raid and four U.S. service members were injured. The commandos were targeting a facility believed to be used by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that permission to conduct anti-terrorism raids had been rescinded following outrage over the civilian casualties.