Al-Qaeda Ascendancy in Yemen Spurs Army Drive to Crush Militants

Across desert mountain ranges and in dusty urban alleyways, Yemen’s army has begun a U.S.-backed offensive to dislodge al-Qaeda militants whose growing numbers pose a threat to neighbors including Saudi Arabia.

President Barack Obama highlighted the Yemen campaign in his foreign-policy speech yesterday, pledging to train the Arab nation’s army to help it fight the militants. The Yemeni army is deploying tanks and helicopters in a campaign coordinated with Saudi Arabia as well as the U.S., Faris al-Saqqaf, an adviser to Yemeni President Abdurabu Mansur Hadi, said in an interview on May 15.