Mabkhout Ali al Ameri with his 18-month old son Mohammed, shortly after a botched US raid on al Ghayil in January 2017 had killed at least 20 villagers, including Mohammed's mother Fatim Saleh Mohsen. © Iona Craig
At least 15 civilians, including at least 10 children and four women, were reportedly killed in a US Navy special forces operation in al-Ghayil village, Yakla region of Bayda province – though the reported civilian toll varied considerably. The US military has to date conceded 12 deaths. A force of US Navy SEALs engaged in
One civilian, named as the elderly man Saleh Ahmed Mohammed al-Qaisi, was killed by a US drone strike in the vicinity of Ja’ar, in the Al Qayseen subdistrict, Sama’a district of Bayda governorate, at 10am on January 21st 2019. In April 2021, CENTCOM confirmed to the Yemen human rights group Mwatana that it had killed
US forces reportedly carried out an attack in Arhab, Yemen on December 17th upon a home believed to be the living quarters of Qasim al Raimi (also called al Raymi), resulting in the death of four militants. The strike was initially reported to have included the use of Yemeni ground forces and air strikes with
Alleged Yemeni or US strikes on Al Qaeda positions in north-eastern Zinjibar, Abyan province, allegedly killed 14 to 18 belligerents and injured dozens of others on 18 March 2012, sources said. There are currently no reports of civilian harm, though one source, Xinhua, stated that an anonymous Yemen official stated that “it was not clear
Two civilians were reported killed in an alleged US drone strike in the vicinity of the village of Manaseh, close to the town of Rada’a in al-Baydah province during the afternoon of the 28th May, 2012. Between one and five militants linked to Al Qaeda were also reported to have been killed in the strike
Alleged US missiles hit a 2006 saloon Land Cruiser traveling on the outskirts of al-Manaseh village on December 29, 2012, near Radda, in the fourth strike in a week. At least three alleged al Qaeda members died and two others were injured. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm. The three victims reportedly
The Yemen Times reported a US drone strike hit Azzan in Shabwa province, described as AQAP’s “last stronghold” in the province, on June 14, 2012. The reporter Ali Saeed subsequently told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism via email that the strike came on Thursday evening. Casualty figures were unknown he added, because “the army has
Between one to three civilians, including a woman and two children, were reported killed and up to five others, including a woman, a child and two paramedics, were injured in alleged US drone strikes on a home in the Al-Hadba area of Al-Wadi, Marib on November 30, 2022. A member of Ansar al-Sharia (AQAP) who
One civilian was killed and at least one other was injured by alleged US airstrikes on a home in the Al-Sha’af area of Al-Sahqeen district of Sadaa, Yemen, on March 16, 2025. The home reportedly belonged to Abdul Rab Jarfan, a member of the Houthi Movement’s intelligence wing, who was also reportedly killed. The US
Initial reports of a US or Yemeni bombing raid upon a police station in Wadi’a district on July 14, 2011 may have resulted in as many as fifty people killed, with as many as thirty civilians among the deceased. Militants were also killed and injured, though there was huge variation in the numbers reported, which
Three to four militants, including one of the most senior leaders of AQAP (Al Qaeda on the Arab Peninsula) were killed in a US drone strike on a road between the regions of Ma’rib and Jawf, near the Obeida valley on the afternoon of the 22nd of April, 2012. The majority of media sources, both
On July 3rd 2012, an alleged US drone strike killed two to six members of Al Qaeda and injured two in a car traveling in the Beihan district of the Shabwah Province. Witnesses stated the drone was American, a claim later supported by news reports. Fox News quoting an official identified two of the dead
Two civilians, including a 14-year old boy, were killed in a US drone strike in Yakla, in the Qayfa area of Bayda governorate, on the evening of November 23rd 2017, according to several reports. In an email to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed that a strike took place in
An alleged US drone attack killed 3 Al Qaeda militants and injured “many” who were gathering in a farm on the outskirts of Jaar in Abyan Province on the 10th of August 2012 in the evening. There are no current reports of civilian harm. The farm which is where the militants were supposedly meeting was
Four AQAP militants were killed in a confirmed CIA drone strike on Jawf, reports said. There are currently no reports of civilian harm from this strike. Anwar al Awlaki, the US-born cleric, apparently became the first US citizen to be deliberately killed by the CIA in a drone strike, part of Operation Troy. The attack
Six to seven militants were killed in an alleged US drone strike which destroyed one vehicle as it travelled as part of a three vehicle convoy along a desert road from Shabwa to Marib on the 12th of May, 2012. Al-Masdar Online reported that local residents had claimed that “the airstrike took place in the
Between six and seven militants including AQAP’s second-in-command Said al Shehri (aka al Shihri) were reportedly killed in an alleged US or Yemeni strike on a car and house in Hadramout, eastern Yemen on September 12, 2012, according to US and Yemeni officials. However, it is unclear at what point Shehri was killed as his
Two Yemeni National Army soldiers, including a Colonel, were reportedly killed by a US drone strike in Al Ashar, Yakla area of Bayda governorate, on the evening of September 18th 2018, according to multiple sources. Some however instead variously indicated that the strike killed two AQAP members, or two civilians. In a later press release,
A few local language social-media sources suggested that US strikes, reportedly including a naval bombardment and at least one air strike, had targeted “terrorist groups”, possibly AQAP, in Arqoub in Abyan governorate, on August 31st 2019, killing “dozens”. Some suggested that the “terrorists” were amongst or affiliated with pro-government forces. There were no known associated
A number of civilians were reportedly killed and injured by alleged US-UK airstrikes in Yemen on March 22/23, 2024. The Houthi-run Human Rights Ministry, as quoted by Anadolu Agency and Saba News, “a number of civilians were killed and injured” by US-UK airstrikes in Yemen. No other information was available as to the number of
In the dawn hours of Dec. 24, 2009, a cruise missile launched by the United States struck a farmhouse in the Rafdh Valley, located in Yemen’s Shabwa province, killing between 5-34 militants associated with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, colloquially known as AQAP. While there are no known reports of civilians being killed or
One civilian was reported injured and eight militants were killed in alleged Yemeni or US airstrikes carried out on the city of Jaar on March 18th 2012, in the governorate of Abyan. According to an Associated Press (AP) report published in the Washington Times, the civilian was injured when a post office being used as
Between four and seven Al Qaeda militants were killed in an alleged US drone strike conducted against a car travelling on a coastal road between the towns of Azzan and Mukalla in the Brom Mayfa district in Hadhramout governorate on the 28th of May, 2012. Mareb Press reported that “a U.S. drone killed five Al
On January 3rd 2013, at least three Al Qaeda militants were allegedly killed by a US or Yemeni airstrike in a “mountainous area” near Rada’a. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm. Among those who died was Muqbel Abbad Al Zobah, nicknamed Abu Shebab, the news source Akhbar Alyom reported. This was corroborated
On July 28th 2012 alleged Yemeni or US fighter jets bombed two suspected Al Qaeda hideouts in the Mahfad district of the Abyan Province with an unknown number of casualties as reported by Xinhua news who got their information from a local security official and a local resident. The security official quoted by Xinhua news
On January 30th 2023, an alleged United States drone strike was reported to have hit a car in Wadi Ubaidah in the Marib Governorate of Yemen. Three people were allegedly killed who were in the car at the time, who Al Mahara and other local sources reported were “members of Al-Qaeda”, including a prominent leader
At least five civilians, including women and children, were reported injured by alleged US airstrikes on the Attan neighborhood of Sana’a, Yemen on March 16, 2025. The US military released a statement that “On March 15, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) initiated an operation consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen in order
An alleged US airstrike that took place on Karadeef in West Zinjibar was reported to have killed five militants and injured two others, with no civilian harm reported, on July 27th 2011. Xinhua news quoted a local official who said that five AQAP militants, including a field commander, were killed by a US drone strike
On 23rd April 2012, a suspected US drone strike at 4:10pm hit vehicles in Shabwa province allegedly leaving up to three militants dead and up to three others injured, according to local sources. The vehicles were reportedly traveling from Nisab to Al-Salida Abadan. Yaspr and Almotamar identified two of the dead as Hussein al-Ahwal Lahoul
Alleged Yemeni or US airstrikes on July 4th 2012 in al-Mahfad, Abyan province reportedly killed between three and 13 Al Qaeda militants and injured up to seven militants. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm. Yemen Post, Naharnet, and Mareb Press reported that the raid was carried out against the position of Al