Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- The United States has been involved in airstrikes in Yemen in the past, the director of Yemen's counterterrorism unit acknowledges, but there is no American military presence in the country.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Gen. Yahya Saleh said Yemen continues to receive much-needed funds from the United States for training, development and intelligence-sharing, and he said the country should be open about the kind of assistance it requires in its fight against al Qaeda.
"We are now in a global war against terrorism. And there shouldn't be any shame about any kind of cooperation," said Saleh, who heads the country's Central Security Forces. "We need to be clear and truthful. There is international cooperation in fighting terror. The thing that we can't do is to be shy about asking for cooperation from others. And that's why we shouldn't be ashamed to announce that there is cooperation and intelligence sharing and cooperation in searching for al Qaeda elements".
Last week, Yemen's Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, told the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper that the U.S. had carried out airstrikes in Yemen, marking his government's first official confirmation of a U.S. military role in its fight against terrorism.
Al-Qirbi said the airstrikes ended in December because the "Yemeni government ascertained they weren't achieving results".
CNN
