By: Agencies
Source: MWC News
At least 13 people have been killed on their way to a wedding in Yemen by a suspected United States drone strike, local officials have said.
The airstrike occurred on Thursday in the village of Qaifa, in Yemen’s central al-Bayda province, after the wedding party was allegedly mistaken for al-Qaeda fighters.
Media reports said that the strike left charred bodies on the road and vehicles on fire.
A military official told Associated Press news agency that initial information indicated the drone mistook the wedding party for an al-Qaeda convoy. He said tribesmen known to the villagers were among the dead.
Yemen is among a handful of countries where the US acknowledges using drones, although it does not comment on the practice.
The US considers Yemen’s branch of al-Qaeda to be the most active in the world.
Human Rights Watch said in a detailed report in August that US missile strikes in Yemen, including armed drone attacks, have killed dozens of civilians.
On Monday, missiles fired from a US drone killed at least three others travelling in a car in eastern Yemen.
