DHAKA: The United States conducted airstrikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen overnight, according to a senior US official.

There were conflicting reports as to whether one or multiple locations were struck, reports CNN.

The strikes are the first ones to target the Yemen-based terror group since the deadly January raid that left Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens dead and several other service members wounded. The mission also cost several civilians their lives and resulted in the loss of a US aircraft.

It is unclear at this time whether the latest strikes were the result of intelligence the US obtained from the January operation, which yielded multiple terabytes of data gathered from the AQAP site.

A US official tells CNN “the raid led to intelligence which will lead to future operations.”

But the raid has faced questions from lawmakers about its utility and execution, with several Trump critics questioning the value of the intelligence, whether the right calculation about the raid's risks was made and whether the result was worth the costs. 

Ryan's father has called for an investigation.

President Donald Trump defended the January raid in his Tuesday address to Congress. 

AQAP is considered by many analysts to be al Qaeda's most capable affiliate, and the organization has been able to carve out a safe haven in Yemen amid the ongoing civil war there.

US defense officials have told CNN that the January raid was part of an “expanded mission set” aimed at going after the terror group.

BDST: 2120 HRS, MAR 02, 2017
AP