The U.S. is supporting a United Arab Emirates offensive in Yemen, which is aimed at clearing out pockets of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from Shabwah province in south central Yemen, the Pentagon said.
The U.S. support consists primarily of overhead surveillance and airstrikes if needed, but also includes a small number of U.S. troops providing advice and coordination.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. role is no different than what it has been doing for months.
“We have been working there with airstrikes as necessary and the authority to do ground operations where necessary,” Davis said. “But the primary focus of this operation, the Shabwah offensive, which you saw announced by the UAE in the last day is to go in there and really rid the Shabwah governorate of remaining AQAP holdout areas.”
Davis said U.S. troops are serving as advisers and are not in a direct combat role, but they are in a hostile area, and could be drawn into combat.
“They certainly could be. We are not being specific about where they are,” Davis said. “But their role is primarily to facilitate the flow of information.”
Davis said the “lion’s share” of the fighting is being done by Yemeni forces, backed by the UAE, and supported by the U.S.
