U.S. bombs al-Qaida targets in Yemen

March 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. military carried out three bombing raids in Yemen overnight on Thursday, the first U.S. military action in Yemen since a special operations raid in January in which a U.S. Marine was killed.

Citing multiple unnamed U.S. and Yemeni military sources, The New York Times reported the bombing raids targeted al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in three provinces: Abyan, Shabwa and Baydha. The raid in Shabwa destroyed a house known in the area as one where al-Qaida militants lived. It is believed three people affiliated with the terrorist group were killed.

The bombings also targeted infrastructure used by suspected al-Qaida militants, officials said.

The missions were the first since a Jan. 28 special ops raid on an al-Qaida compound that killed Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens and injured three other Marines. The U.S. military has said the raid also killed 14 suspected members of al-Qaida. Yemeni media have also reported up to 25 civilians, including children, were killed during a gun battle between Marines and al-Qaida militants.

The Pentagon said the mission resulted in a valuable trove of information recovered about al-Qaida's operations in Yemen, though congressional Democrats have questioned whether the mission truly netted any valuable intelligence about planned attacks on the United States.