The plan to
move CIA-operated Predator and other unmanned aircraft
into the region reflects a decision by President Obama
that the al-Qaeda threat in Yemen has grown so serious
that patrols by U.S. military drones are not enough.
U.S. officials said the CIA would operate alongside, and
in close coordination with, the U.S. Joint Special Operations
Command, which has been flying Predators and other remotely
piloted planes over Yemen for much of the past year.
The US campaign in Yemen is led by the Pentagon's Joint
Special Operations Command in close co-operation with
the CIA. Teams of US military and intelligence operatives
have a command post in Sanaa to track intelligence about
militants and plot future strikes.
