JNN 07.11.10 The United States has deployed unmanned Predator drones in Yemen, claiming they are aimed at eradicating al-Qaeda militants, senior US officials say.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the drones have been patrolling the Yemeni skies for several months in search of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives allegedly hiding in the country.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that the drones have not fired missiles yet because they lack solid intelligence on the militants’ whereabouts.

Yemen has shown deep reservations about any possible attacks after a US cruise missile earlier this year killed a government official, stirring anti-American sentiments.

The Yemeni government protested the attack and the people of the Middle Eastern country were outraged by it.

The Sunday’s report also said that the administration of US President Barack Obama planned to double its military aid to Yemen to 250 million dollars for the next year.

The reports come one day after Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar criticized the West for linking al-Qaeda to his country, accusing Western powers of having helped create the terrorist group.

“Al-Qaeda is mainly a Western-made group,” Mujawar said on Saturday. The militant group “was not created in Yemen at all as it is being alleged by those who propagate this perception internationally about Yemen,” the Yemeni premier added.

Mujawar’s comments hinted at America’s funding of fighters in Afghanistan who were resisting Soviet occupation back in the 1980s.

The White House has stepped up pressure on Sana’a for what it calls al-Qaeda’s use of Yemeni soil as a safe haven for terrorist operations against Washington.