Americans’ strong pulls (5)

I believe the answer is:

yanks

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

This might be a double definition.

'americans'' is the first definition.
(Yank is an example)

'pulls' is the second definition.
(yanking is a kind of pulling)

'strong' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to one of the definitions.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for yanks that I've seen before include "Americans; pulls" , "Pulls sharply" , "Physical jerks" , "Tugs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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