SANAA - Yemen said senior al-Qaida militants were targeted in Thursday's air strike in al-Bayda province, the first government statement on an incident which local officials said killed 15 people on their way to a wedding.Local officials said the wedding party was hit in an air strike on Thursday in the south of Yemen after being mistaken for an al-Qaida convoy, and five people were also injured.The government's statement, issued late on Friday, made no mention of the wedding or civilian casualties."An air strike was carried out at about 4:30 in the afternoon of (Thursday), targeting a car belonging to a leader," an official of the government's security committee was quoted as saying in the statement carried by the state news agency.In the vehicle "were a number of al-Qaida leaders and members who were among the most high-ranking and who had been involved in planning terrorist operations," said the statement.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)