Pentagon confirms new US strikes in Yemen, but says no raids

President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, left, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 20, 2017  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The Pentagon confirmed a new wave of strikes on Friday in Yemen against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula but a spokesman denied reports that American forces had been engaged in ground combat or conducting raids.

“I know there have been reports of firefights, raids, there have not been any that US forces have been involved in — not since the one you know about,” Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman told a news briefing, adding that since Thursday there had been about 30 US strikes in total against the group. The United States carried out a raid in January in Yemen against al Qaeda militants, the first of its kind authorized by President Donald Trump.