US missile 'used in Yemen raid'

American missiles were used in a raid against al-Qaida in Yemen, where women and children died in December, the rights group Amnesty International says.

Amnesty has released images taken after the raid, which he says shows remnants of a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile.

Cluster bombs were apparently used in the attack, which Amnesty describes as "irresponsible".

The U.S. has said its troops gave support to the invasion of Abyan province.

But Yemeni officials have denied any U.S. involvement.
Obama congratulates

At the end of 2009 suddenly entered Yemen offensive against al-Qaeda militants.

The authorities began a series of raids, saying intelligence showed that Western targets were in great danger.

On December 17 attack on two militant targets were reportedly more than 30 militants dead, the raids were hailed as a great success in Yemen.

U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned his Yemeni counterpart, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in order to offer his congratulations.

But Amnesty says that since the U.S. actually supported the raid by cruise missiles.

"A military attack of this kind against suspected militants without an attempt to hold them to at least unlawful," said Philip Luther Amnesty.

"The fact that so many of the victims were women and children in fact indicates that the attack was in fact indefensible, particularly given the likely use of cluster munitions."

Unnamed U.S. officials have said that the elite U.S. troops support essential contradiction Yemeni government claims that it was entirely their operation, says the BBC's Sebastian Usher.

But the U.S. has denied reports it had cruise missiles - the core of the new allegations by Amnesty International released to confirm.

Analysts say the U.S. is intimately involved in station in the country against al-Qaeda.

But Yemeni leaders are not keen to appear too closely tied to U.S. interests - one reason why the U.S. is the extent of its military role in the country to keep under wraps, our correspondent adds.