Yemen denies presence of U.S. drones

SANAA, Yemen, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- There are no U.S. military drones deployed in counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen's Shabwa province, the provincial government said Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama's top national security adviser John Brennan said this week that Washington was committed to helping Yemen battle al-Qaida fighters active in the southern provinces.

Defense officials from Washington told CNN this week on condition of anonymity that the Obama administration was considering deploying armed unmanned aerial vehicles to Yemen to help with counter-terrorism operations.

Ali al-Ahmadi, the provincial governor of Shabwa, said allegations that drones were currently overhead were groundless, the official Saba news agency in Yemen reports.

Washington focused its attention on Yemen following a series of attacks targeting U.S. national interests. Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. national and al-Qaida leader, is allegedly hiding in southern Yemen. He has ties to a November shooting rampage in Texas and a failed plot to blow up a U.S. passenger plane Christmas Day.

Obama stoked controversy earlier this year when he placed Awlaki on Washington's hit list.

Security officials in Yemen said they wouldn't stop their fight against al-Qaida until all militants are arrested.