U.S. Says It Killed Dozens of ISIS Fighters in Yemen Camps

U.S. forces killed dozens of ISIS militants Monday in a strike on two Yemen-based training camps, the Defense Department said.

The camps in Al Bayda Governorate are considered “ungoverned spaces” and are used to train militants to be combat-ready soldiers, the Pentagon said in the statement.

Image: Yemeni Houthi rebels Image: Yemeni Houthi rebels

Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels at a gathering to mobilize fighters to battle pro-government forces in the capital, Sanaa, on June 18. Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images file

“ISIS used the camps to train militants to conduct terror attacks using AK-47s, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and endurance training,” the statement said. “For years, Yemen has been a hub for terrorist recruiting, training and transit.”

Related: U.S. Aims to Root Out ‘Ungoverned Spaces’ as Hotbeds of Terrorism

A U.S.-led coalition with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government has worked to hit ISIS and al Qaeda in the region to limit the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel fighters, NBC News reported in February. That report outlined how the U.S. Navy intercepted five shipments of weapons from Iran meant for Houthi rebels fighting in the region.

Northern Shiite Houthis took up arms with splintered members of the country’s military in an uprising to remove President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The rebels exiled the Yemeni government in 2015 after they secured the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Related: Who Are Yemen’s Houthis, and What Do They Want?

The head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, which is responsible for safeguarding the waters off Yemen, said the United States and its allies had intercepted five weapons shipments from Iran destined for the Houthis, officials said at the time, which they said showed Iran’s continuing influence in the region.

Image: Yemen cholera outbreak Image: Yemen cholera outbreak

A Yemeni child suspected of being infected with cholera cries at a hospital in the capital, Sanaa, on Aug. 12. Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images file

The conflict has spurred one of the greatest humanitarian crises to befall the region, with 7 in 10 Yemenis needing assistance because of the conflict and a subsequent cholera outbreak in the region, according to Save the Children.