Official: Yemen raid yields data on al-Qaida explosives
WASHINGTON — U.S. special operations forces gathered valuable intelligence on the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen in a raid last month, including data on the explosives they’re manufacturing and the types of threats they’re developing, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
President Donald Trump, in a speech to a joint session of Congress, sought to rebut the notion the raid didn’t yield valuable information. Trump said he’d been reassured of that fact just before his speech by Defence Secretary James Mattis.
Among those killed was Chief Special Warfare Officer William “Ryan” Owens. Six American soldiers were wounded and a military aircraft had to be destroyed after a hard landing. The assault took place days after Trump’s inauguration.
“Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies,” Trump said, quoting Mattis.