US drone strikes kill 28 al Qaeda suspects in Yemen: Pentagon

Washington: As many as 28 suspected militants linked to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have recently been killed in nine separate US drone strikes across Yemen, the Pentagon said.

"Strikes against AQAP in Yemen pressure the terrorist network and hinder their ability to attack the US and our allies," a Central Command spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

The strikes were carried out between September 23 and December 13, said the statement, which was released shortly before the anniversary of the attempted bombing of a commercial airliner in 2009 carried out by the terror group, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was also blamed for the bloody attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris in January 2015.