Ten Yemeni soldiers and 21 suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed in clashes in south Yemen yesterday, the defence ministry said on its news website.Eighteen terrorists were killed and dozens wounded when gunmen attacked the base of the brigade," the official said, adding that "nine soldiers fell martyrs."
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's opponents have accused him of handing over Zinjibar to Islamists to reinforce his threat that the end of his three-decade rule, as demanded by protesters, would amount to ceding the region to al-Qaida.Yemen's state news agency Saba said on Thursday the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was arranging humanitarian aid for 10,000 people fleeing Abyan after attacks from al-Qaida.Meanwhile, the official said three "al-Qaeda terrorists" were killed and 10 others wounded, while a soldier was killed and three wounded when gunmen ambushed a military convoy near Loder, also in Abyan."We understand the uniqueness of an operation like this, but we make no apologies for the fact that Osama bin Laden needed to be found and brought to justice, and that's what we did." “The team had the authority to kill Osama bin Laden unless he offered to surrender; in which case the team was required to accept his surrender if the team could do so safely. The operation was conducted in a manner fully consistent with the laws of war. The operation was planned so that the team was prepared and had the means to take bin Laden into custody. There is simply no question that this operation was lawful. Bin Laden was the head of al Qaeda, the organization that conducted the attacks of September 11, 2001. And al Qaeda and bin Laden himself had continued to plot attacks against the United States. We acted in the nation’s self-defense. The operation was conducted in a way designed to minimize and avoid altogether, if possible, civilian casualties. And if I might add, that was done at great risk to Americans. Furthermore, consistent with the laws of war, bin Laden’s surrender would have been accepted if feasible.”The US administration has said that during the planning for the mission, there had been “extensive” discussions on the question of capturing Osama bin Laden alive, but that “the concern was that bin Laden would oppose any type of capture operation”.
