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US Republican Senator John McCain President Donald Trump has lashed out at Republican Senator John McCain for criticizing the recent US raid in Yemen in which an American special forces trooper died. The White House has characterized the January 28 strike on purported al-Qaeda targets in the central Yemeni province of Bayda as a “huge success," despite the death of multiple civilians and children in an hour-long gunfight in which Navy SEALs and troops from the United Arab Emirates clashed with well-entrenched al-Qaeda militants. McCain told NBC News on Wednesday that he cannot call it a success "when you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost." McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who was briefed on the raid, called the mission a failure because one US soldier died and one military aircraft crashed, not because of the death of civilians. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Trump said that the Arizona senator’s ne...

The leader of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch said in a recorded speech released on Friday that the U.S. raid carried out last week had failed and was a blow to President Donald Trump. Qassim al-Raymi, who became leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2015, said that two U.S. helicopters had been downed in the incident and tens of U.S soldiers were injured. "The fool of the White House has received a painful blow at the beginning of his journey through your hands," al-Raymi said, addressing the people of Yemen. The raid on al Qaeda in southern Yemen that took place last week was the first such operation authorized by President Trump as commander-in-chief. U.S. Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens was killed in the raid, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants. Medics at the scene said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, also died. Al-Raymi said that 14 men had been killed 11 women and children were killed in the raid.