The United States offered extensive assistance beyond drone strikes during a massive anti-terror operation in Yemen , including flying Yemeni commandos to a site where they killed scores of suspected al Qaeda members , a U.S. official said . U.S. Special Operations troops wore night-vision gear and flew Yemeni forces to a remote , mountainous spot insouthern Yemen , according to a senior U.S. official . The Yemeni helicopters that the U.S. personnel flew were Russian-made , which helped to minimize the U.S. footprint during the operation . Once there , Yemeni commandos engaged suspected members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , the U.S. official said , who added that no Americans took part in actual combat on the ground . This same official identified the American personnel involved as special operations members , who are among the most elite and clandestine in the U.S. military . The official said the United States aided Yemen 's government in other ways as well during the multiday operation , which resulted in the deaths of at least 65 suspected terrorists . CIA drones are suspected to have targeted al Qaeda fighters , weapons locations and a training camp . The latter is near where about 100 suspected members of the terrorist group met recently , according to video that 's appeared on jihadist websites and produced worries that the group could be plotting new attacks . In the middle of that video , the man known as al Qaeda 's crown prince , Nasir al-Wuhayshi , appears brazenly out in the open , greeting followers in Yemen . Al-Wuhayshi is the No . 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , or AQAP , which is considered the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate . In a speech to the group , al-Wuhayshi makes it clear that he 's going after the United States , saying : `` We must eliminate the cross . ... The bearer of the cross is America ! '' On Tuesday , Pentagon spokesman Adm. John Kirby declined to detail the U.S. government 's involvement in this and other aspects of the latest anti-terror operation , though he did highlight its partnership with Yemen . `` We continue to work with the Yemeni government and the Yemeni armed forces to help them improve their counterterrorism capabilities inside the country , '' said Kirby . `` That work continues , and it will continue . '' DNA tests are being conducted to determine if one of the most well-known members of that group -- bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri -- is among the dead , according to Yemeni officials . A high-level Yemeni government official told CNN that al-Asiri is among those suspected to have been killed in a firefight Sunday between militants and Yemeni forces . DNA test results are not due for several days , the official said . These comments are the first public acknowledgment that al-Asiri could be among the dead . Even as that possibility is being examined , U.S. officials said they have no confirmation that al-Asiri is among those killed in an operation that did n't directly target him . Yemen strikes may target top al Qaeda leaders . Opinion : Obama 's high-stakes drone war in Yemen .
Official : U.S. special operations forces flew Yemeni commandos via helicopter . The Yemeni forces went to a remote spot in south Yemen to engage terror suspects . At least 65 suspected al Qaeda members were killed in the overall operation . Yemeni officials : DNA tests are being done to see if Ibrahim al-Asiri is among dead .