Ahlul Bayt News Agency, While US officials insist that Washington only plays a supporting role by helping Yemen identify and locate targets, the human rights watchdog urged the United States to clarify its role in aerial bombings and alleged drone attacks.
"The USA appears to have carried out or collaborated in unlawful killings in Yemen and has closely cooperated with Yemeni security forces in situations that have failed to give due regard for human rights," Amnesty said in a report released on Wednesday.
Amnesty further urged Washington to "investigate the serious allegations of the use of drones by US forces for targeted killings of individuals in Yemen and clarify the chain of command and rules governing the use of such drones."
Sana'a engaged in a military operation in central Yemen to weed out what the US administration termed as "al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula." Washington charged the group with masterminding an alleged attempt to bomb a US-bound flight on Christmas Day, 2009.
Washington signed new military agreements with Sana'a and stepped up its training, intelligence and military aid to the Arab nation which was already involved in a major offensive in the north to against Shia Houthi fighters.
In May, Yemeni media reported that a US drone strike allegedly aimed at suspected al-Qaeda militants had mistakenly killed more than a dozen civilians, including a government mediator.
"The US government has deployed drones in Yemen to kill those it describes as 'high value targets', a practice that has been increasingly criticized as involving unlawful killings," Amnesty said.
"Often used in remote areas, drones are particularly suited to secret use and it is invariably difficult to investigate and assess allegations that they have been used to assassinate specific individuals," it noted.
In a report published in June, Amnesty said the United States used cluster bombs on a cruise missile in Yemen, killing 55 people, mostly civilians, in al-Ma'jalah in Abyan province.
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