Al-Qaeda is gaining ground in Yemen and could benefit from military actions like the deadly raid by elite US forces ordered by President Donald Trump, the International Crisis Group warned Thursday.
"The Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda is stronger than it has ever been," ICG said in a report documenting the spread of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
"The first military actions by the Trump administration in Yemen bode poorly for the prospect of smartly and effectively countering AQAP," read the report, released after Sunday's US air raid in central Yemen.
While Washington has said at least 14 suspected jihadists and one US Navy SEAL were killed in the strike, ICG said the death toll included "many civilians, including at least 10 women and children".
The think-tank warned that strikes like the January 29 raid on Baida province could increase fear of or even hostility towards the United States among civilians, providing fertile ground for recruitment by AQAP.
"The use of US soldiers, high civilian casualties and disregard for local tribal and political dynamics... plays into AQAP's narrative of defending Muslims against the West and could increase anti-US sentiment and with it AQAP's pool of recruits," said the Brussels-based ICG.
With its key role in regional politics, Trump's White House also stands to impact efforts to find a political solution to Yemen's conflict which has killed more than 7,400 people since March 2015, according to the World Health Organization.
"These efforts will be imperilled if states interested in fighting AQAP and Yemen's nascent Islamic State (IS) branch, such as the US, take military actions that ignore the local context... or fail to restrain partners who tolerate or even encourage AQAP/IS activities," added the 35-page report.
Saudi Arabia, which intervened militarily two years ago in Yemen to support the government, is a key regional ally of the United States, which regards AQAP as Al-Qaeda's most dangerous branch.
The oil-rich Gulf monarchy has been spared Trump's travel ban imposed last Friday targeting nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen.
