Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: YEMT095)
US airstrikes reportedly targeted alleged AQAP militants travelling in Yakla, east of the Qifah area of Bayda governorate, early on the morning of August 19th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.
Several sources suggested that US helicopters and warplanes, reportedly including drones and “vertical fighters” [possibly USMC Harriers], targeted four suspected AQAP cars on the main road in the area.
One source, Albedeel, reported that Xinhua news agency had spoken with a “local source”, who said that US drones bombed both fixed and mobile targets, resulting in “human and material losses”. Airwars has therefore assessed that at least one AQAP militant was reportedly killed in the strike. The original reported Xinhua story could not be found.
A few sources suggested that, according to local residents, the strikes came alongside or after an attempted US troop landing. Al Masdar Online reported that “earlier that day, Apache helicopters had attempted to carry out an airdrop of US forces, but armed tribesmen were able to prevent them”.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the vicinity of Yakla (يكلا) village, east of the Qifah (قيفه) area. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Yakla are: 14.598056, 45.060000.