Officials: U.S. Drone Strike Kills 13 in Yemen

Missiles fired by a U.S. drone slammed into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a wedding party in central Yemen on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, Yemeni security officials said.

The officials said the attack took place in the city of Radda, the capital of Bayda province. The city, a stronghold of al-Qaida terrorists, witnessed deadly clashes early last year between armed tribesmen backed by the military and al-Qaida gunmen in an attempt to drive them out of the city.

There were no immediate details on who was killed in the strike, and there were conflicting reports about whether there were terrorists traveling with the wedding convoy.

A military official said initial information indicated the drone mistook the wedding party for an al-Qaida convoy. He said tribesmen known to the villagers were among the dead.

One of the three security officials, however, said al-Qaida terrorists were suspected to have been traveling with the wedding convoy.

The CIA declined to comment on the reported drone strike. While the U.S. acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not usually talk about individual strikes.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the December 13th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.