Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEM070-B

Incident date

April 30, 2012

Location

لودر, Mountains southeast of Lawdar town, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.837641, 45.915195 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Four Al Qaeda militants were killed by alleged Yemeni or US airstrikes in the southeast of the town of Loder located in the south of Yemen on the 30th of April 2012. No civilian harm was reported.

Reuters reported that the airstrike hit a vehicle which killed four militants inside. Witnesses reported a series of multiple airstrikes.

Locals told Xinhua that the strikes targeted Al Qaeda hideouts. AFP added that a tank and two vehicles loaded with ammunition and machine guns were simultaneously destroyed and that militant positions in the mountains southeast of Loder were hit by the airstrikes, with Nashwan News specifying the location to be Al Qaeda sites in Mount Yusef.

On June 20th, a jihadist website reported that Muhammad Fazi al Harasheh, aka Abu Hammam al Zarqawi, had died in a drone strike on a vehicle. Al Zarqawi was the nephew of former Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, killed by the US in 2006. Initial reports suggested he had been killed by a landmine. Although the precise date of his death is unknown, the April 30th strikes appear to most closely match the description. The Long War Journal reported a militant statement as saying: “They were unable to kill him in the battles, so they sent spies to guide them to him. A drone came to bomb the car in which he and one of the brother were riding, and so his pure soul went to its maker.” With this information, it is unclear whether al Zarqawi was killed in this incident or another incident that occurred on the same day (USYEM071-B), since he was known to operate in Abyan province which Zinjibar and Loder are both a part of. The mention of a drone indicated that the US was involved in the strike.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that militant positions or a vehicle in the mountains southeast of the town of Lawdar (لودر) were targeted. The mountainous area southeast to the town is called Jabal (Mount) Khurf (جبل خرف), for which the coordinates are: 13.837641, 45.915195.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4

Sources (5) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Yemeni Air Force Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Yemeni Air Force
  • Yemeni Air Force position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4

Sources (5) [ collapse]