Trump praises 'heroic' soldier killed in mission targeting Yemeni al-Qaeda allies as he pushes 'fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism'

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President Donald Trump on Sunday mourned the loss of the first U.S. service member killed in the line of duty since he took office nine days ago.

The soldier's death, he said in a statement, 'will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world.' 

But 'Americans are saddened this morning with news that a life of a heroic service member has been taken in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism.' 

One soldier was killed and three others wounded during a raid in Yemen that targeted a regional affiliate of the al-Qaeda terror network.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Sunday that another service member was injured in a 'hard landing' in a nearby location. The Pentagon department said the aircraft was unable to fly afterward and 'was then intentionally destroyed in place.'

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President Donald Trump, shown speaking with Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, praised a 'heroic service member' who died 'in our fight against the evil of radical Islamic terrorism'

One U.S. soldier was killed and three others were wounded during a raid in Yemen targeting a local al-Qaeda affiliate; pictured is an Apache helicopter like those used in the dawn raid

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Sunday morning on 'Meet the Press' that the unusual step was taken in order to keep enemy fighters from capturing any of the helicopter's high-tech hardware. 

Officials revealed 14 al-Qaeda fighters were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members captured 'information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots'.

Yemeni security and tribal officials said the assault in central al-Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaeda leaders.

The dawn attack killed Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims. 

The al-Dhahab family is considered an ally of al-Qaeda, which security forces say is concentrated in al-Bayda. 

The deadly U.S. raid took place in the al-Bayda province, in southwestern Yemen, at dawn on Sunday

A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed years ago in a family feud.

The fighting reportedly lasted around 45 minutes; American troops killed or wounded some two dozen men, including Saudis present at the site.

An al-Qaeda-linked news service in Yemen confirmed the killings, likening the attack as a 'massacre against Muslims' and saying that women and children had been killed. It provided no evidence to support that claim.

The terrorist press organ said Apache attack helicopters struck the area from the air before dropping commandos in for the raid, which took place near Yakla village in Radaa district. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Bayda province in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the US presidency.

The tribal officials said the Americans were looking for al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi, adding that they captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.

The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.

Separately, Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the country's southern city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.