Saudi jets join America's secret war in Yemen
Iona Craig in Sanaa and Nico Hines in Washington
Friday January 04 2013, 12.01am, The Times
Strikes against Yemeni targets outnumbered those in Pakistan for the first time last year
Saudi Arabia has joined the United States in prosecuting an undeclared aerial war against al-Qaeda in Yemen, The Times has learnt.
The disclosure that US drone strikes in Yemen have been bolstered by Saudi fighter jets will raise fresh questions about the legality of America's expanding programme of targeted killings.
Covert airstrikes against Yemeni targets outnumbered those in Pakistan for the first time last year, as the White House discarded its "kill or capture" strategy and the region became a template for the systematic use of deadly force against terror suspects worldwide.
The Times has learnt that up to 228 people were killed last year by covert attacks in Yemen, including Saudi airstrikes. "Some of the so-called drone missions are actually Saudi Air Force missions,"