WASHINGTON, Apr 22: The US has asserted that extraordinary care is taken to ensure its counterterrorism actions are in accordance with international and domestic laws.
“As the President made clear, we take extraordinary care to make sure that our counter-terrorism actions are in accordance with all applicable domestic and international laws, and that they are consistent with US values and policy,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.
He, however, refused to comment on the military actions against the al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen by Yemeni forces backed by the US drones.
He said the US had a strong, collaborative relationship with the Yemeni government and the two countries work together on various initiatives to counter the shared threat they face from al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula.
“I can’t speak to specific operations, as you know. But we have a strong collaborative relationship with the Yemeni government and (we) work together on various initiatives to counter the shared threat we face from AQAP.
“We support the Yemeni government’s efforts to tackle terrorism within their own borders; and beyond that, for details of these reported incidents, I would refer you to the Yemeni government,” he said in response to a question.
Without speaking about specific operations, Carney mentioned President Barack Obama’s May 2013 speech about “the policy and legal rationale” on how the US takes direct action against al-Qaeda and its associated forces outside areas of active hostilities, including through drone strikes.
He said the Yemeni government had confirmed that air strikes were carried out on weekend against al-Qaeda militants in remote training camps and on a convoy.
“According to the Yemenis, these individuals were planning to target civilian and military facilities in al-Bayda and elsewhere,” he said. (PTI)
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