Boy’s death highlights anger some Yemenis feel over U.S. drone strikes
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/20/194542/boys-death-highlights-anger-some.html
n unmanned drone flies a training mission over Victorville, California
Boys death highlights anger some Yemenis feel over U.S. drone strikes
By Adam Baron McClatchy Foreign Staff
Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2013
SANAA, Yemen If an apparent U.S. drone strike this month in the village of Mahashama had killed only its intended targets an al Qaida chief and some of his men locals mightve grumbled about a violation of Yemens national sovereignty and gone on with their lives.
But the strike also killed a 10-year-old named Abdulaziz, the younger brother of the targeted militant, Saleh Hassan Huraydan, according to local tribal leaders and Yemenis with close ties to the al Qaida branch here. And that set off a firestorm of complaints that underscores how American airstrikes can so outrage a community that even though al Qaida loses some foot soldiers, it gains dozens of sympathizers.
Killing al Qaida is one thing, but the death of an innocent person is a crime that we cannot accept, said a sheikh from the area, who like other tribal leaders McClatchy interviewed spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns. What did Abdulaziz do? Was this child a member of al Qaida?
The death of a child not only inflames tensions over drone attacks against suspected al Qaida operatives in the province but also raises questions about the rules that govern the Obama administrations drone strategy.