Mixed reports on U.S. role in Yemen

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Reports are mixed on whether Washington sent U.S. Special Forces to Yemen, with Yemeni reports denying U.S. troops are present on its soil.

The Wall Street Journal during the weekend cited U.S. officials "familiar with the matter" saying military planners would keep elite forces inside Yemen and expand the footprint.

"The numbers are definitely going to grow," said one military official.

Yemen's official Saba news agency, however, points to an interview that Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. State Department's Near East director, gave to London's al-Hayat newspaper saying there are no plans for U.S. soldiers in Yemen.

"President (Barack) Obama's view was clear about the matter when he said that there were no U.S. troops on Yemen's soil and there were no plans to send U.S. troops into Yemen," he said. "What we aim to provide in aid is to back up Yemen's efforts to tackle its problems by itself."

Washington denied repeatedly that it was involved in a direct military role in Yemen, admitting only to training Yemeni forces.

Yemen emerged as the new front in the global fight against terrorism following the failed bombing of a U.S. passenger jet Christmas Day. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the plot.