Incident Code
USYEM278
Incident Date
23 September 2016
Location
Ma'rib, Yemen
Airwars Assessment
Last Updated: May 7, 2026
(Previous Incident Code: YEM246 )
News sites reported that a suspected US drone strike killed at least three al Qaeda suspects in Marib province on Friday evening. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.
A US military press release, published in late December, confirmed it was a military strike. It killed four, Centcom reported.
According to Middle East Eye and Reuters, the strike killed Abu Khaled al Sanaani, a local AQAP commander.
Reuters also said four al Qaeda members had been killed in the strike while Middle East Eye said that five members had died in the attack. AP said that three al Qaeda members were killed.
Military Statements
U.S. Forces Assessment
Known belligerent
U.S. Forces
U.S. Forces position on incident
Not yet assessed
U.S. Forces Strike Report
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2016 — Twenty-eight terrorists were killed in Yemen in nine strikes against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula between Sept. 23 and Dec. 13, according to a U.S. Central Command news release issued today.
“AQAP is a foreign terrorist organization with a history of attacks against the United States and its allies, including the Christmas Day 2009 attempted bombing of a commercial airliner in the U.S., and the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo office massacre in Paris,” Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques, a Centcom spokesman, said in the release.
“Strikes against AQAP in Yemen pressure the terrorist network and hinder their ability to attack the U.S. and our allies,” Jacques said.
Dates of strikes follow:
-- Sept. 23, a strike killed four AQAP operatives in Marib near al-Bayda;
-- Sept. 29, in a previously reported strike, two AQAP operatives died after they were targeted in al-Baydah governorate. Originally, Centcom reported one death and one injured in the strike. It is now confirmed that the hospitalized terrorist later died of those injuries;
-- Oct. 6, a strike killed two AQAP operatives in Shabwah governorate;
-- Oct. 18, a strike killed six AQAP operatives in Shabwah;
-- Oct. 21, a strike killed five AQAP operatives in Marib governorate;
-- Nov. 20, a strike killed one AQAP operative in al-Baydah governorate
-- Nov. 24, a strike killed two AQAP operatives in al-Baydah;
-- Nov. 30, a strike killed three AQAP operatives in Hadramawt governorate; and
-- Dec. 13, a strike killed three AQAP operatives in Marib.