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Incident date

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Incident Code

USYEM005-C

Previous code

YEM004a

Previous code

USYEM004a

Incident date

December 24, 2009

Location

أبين, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.766164, 46.112811 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Province/governorate level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

A second air strike reportedly occurred on 24th December 2009 in the province of Abyan “of which the death toll is unknown”, according to the Swiss-based human rights organization, Alkarama. No other sources were found that reported on this strike.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

Strike status

Single source claim
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

0
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attacker

US Forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Alkarama
- English
Archive
- English

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the governorate of Abyan (أبين), for which the generic coordinates are: 13.766164, 46.112811. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Summary

Strike status

Single source claim
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

0
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attacker

US Forces

Sources (1) [ collapse]

Alkarama
- English
Archive
- English

Incident Code

USYEM002-C

Previous code

YEMO001

Incident date

December 17, 2009

Location

المعجلة, Al Majala, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.972421, 46.451482 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

At least forty-seven civilians, including at least twenty-two children and twelve women, were reportedly killed after a US cruise-missile strike targeted an alleged AQAP training camp on the edge of Al-Majala village, Mahfad district of Abyan governorate, at around 6 AM on December 17th 2009. This was the first known strike in Yemen approved by the Obama administration, and the first known strike conducted by the US in Yemen since 2002. The strike came alongside other reported US-Yemeni counter-terror operations in the country on the same day. Later reports suggested that uncleared bomblets continued to constitute a fatal hazard to civilians for years after the strike.

Though the Yemeni defence ministry initially briefed that they had conducted the strike, killing “between 24 and 30 Al-Qaeda militants, including foreigners…while training”, according to AFP, local accounts and investigators into the strike instead highlighted the large number of civilian fatalities. Evidence collected at the strike location, briefings by US officials, and information obtained in the Wikileaks files confirmed that US naval forces had targeted the village with multiple Tomahawk missiles, loaded with cluster munitions, or “bomblets”.

A Yemeni parliamentary commission, which visited the area, reported in February 2010 that forty-one civilians were killed, and at least seven – including women and children – were wounded, in the immediate aftermath of the missile strikes. Those killed that were named by the report were from just two family groups; fourteen were from the Haydara family, and twenty-seven were from the Anbour family.

The report stated that, of those killed, twenty-two were children; the youngest named by the report, Khadija Ali Mokbel Salem, was just one year old when she died. Nineteen of those killed were less than ten-years-old, the report stated. The Al-Karama Foundation also listed twenty-two children killed.

According to the Al-Karama Foundation’s list of casualties, six children were injured by the strike. Two of those who survived the strike were Samia Luqia Al-Anbouri, aged two at the time of the strike, who Al-Karama reported “was hit in the stomach and back by a bomb fragment”, and Nada Luqia Al-Anbouri, aged three in December 2009, who Al-Karama reported was “unscathed”, but nonetheless listed as “injured”.

Human Rights Watch later spoke with three of the four orphaned child survivors of the strike in 2013 – Nada Loqyah Mahdi, Aysha Nassar Mahdi, and Muhammad Ali Loqyah – who were aged five, four, and seven at the time of the interview. “Aysha raised a hand to show a finger she lost in the airstrike. Nada showed the gashes on her stomach from fragments of the ordnance. ‘Nada had been really healthy,” Medhi said. “Now she is very thin and vomits all the time. There may still be some fragments in her stomach but we can’t afford another operation.'”

Dexter Filkins wrote for The New Yorker that, in March 2011, he had “met a fifteen-year-old named Fatima Ali, who rolled up the sleeve of her chador, revealing hideous burns. Another girl showed me her hand, which was missing a finger. She had lost her mother in the raid”. Fatima Ali Muhammed Nasser, aged thirteen at the time of the strike, was listed by the Al-Karama Foundation as one of those injured. The Yemeni parliamentary report indicated that Fatima was the only survivor of the Haydara family, and required medical attention “abroad”. According to the Al-Karama report, three children died on their way to hospital.

The parliamentary report further listed that twelve of those killed were women. Residents later told Human Rights Watch that five were pregnant at the time of the strike, though other sources, such as the Al-Karama Foundation, indicated that as many as seven pregnant women were killed. Some sources indicated that fewer or more women were killed; locals told Human Rights Watch that nine women had died, while the Al-Karama Foundation explicitly listed ten women as deceased, and one as injured.

Seven civilian men were killed, according to the parliamentary report. Aden Press reported that nineteen male “nomads” had been killed, seemingly referring to civilians, though possibly including alleged AQAP militants. From the Anbour family, local residents told the commission, only one male survived, Houssain Abdallah Awad Aabad, a man in his thirties. The Al-Karama Foundation listed one man as injured in the strike.

The report also indicated that three additional civilians – Khaled Mohammed Ali, Nasser Saleh Al-Souedi, and Mithaq Al-Jild – were killed, and nine wounded, by unexploded ordnance on December 21st 2009. The Alkarama Foundation indicated that four had died, and twenty-five had been injured, in this secondary blast.

Reported fatalities continued for years after the initial strike and the publication of the report. The Al-Karama report stated that, in 2010, a bomblet floated five kilometres down a nearby river, killing two people gathering herbs and injuring four others. Locals, including a relative, told Human Rights Watch that on January 24th 2012 – over two years after the strike – a child brought a bomblet home with him, which detonated, killing the boy’s father, Salem Atef Ali Basyoul, and injuring the boy and two siblings. This was also reported by Yemeni tribal leader, and member of the parliamentary commission, Sheikh Saleh Bin Fareed, to Democracy Now. The Alkarama Foundation and Arij.Net further reported that the mother was also injured in this explosion.

Other sources gave slightly higher estimates of casualty numbers in al-Majala. Human rights activist Abbas Al-Assal, a local resident, denied the existence of an AQAP camp in the area to the Associated Press, and said that sixty-four were killed, including twenty-three children and seventeen women. Alkhaleej similarly reported that, according to a local mosque official, 49 civilians were killed, including 23 children and 17 women. According to Reuters, “residents and opposition groups said about 50 civilians were killed”. In 2012, an Al-Jazeera retrospective reported that forty-six were killed, of which “only three” were young men. Local sources told The Guardian that “about 50 people were killed, and some 60 injured”. According to Aden Press, 62 were killed, including “28 children and a woman”, and 88 wounded, while one Facebook source, Helmy al-Redfani, claimed that, according to news sources, there had been more than seventy “martyrs” and “hundreds” of wounded civilians.

Given that the names and numbers given by the commission were accepted by the Yemeni government on publication, and the later investigations by Human Rights Watch and Al-Karama appeared to broadly corroborate their findings, these figures have been taken by Airwars as minimum alleged civilian casualty figures. Including the findings of the commission, as well as the later post-strike casualties reported by human rights investigators, the minimum number of reported civilian deaths has been assessed by Airwars as forty-seven, including at least twenty-two children, twelve women, and eleven men. The minimum number of civilian injuries has been, similarly, set at twenty-three, including nine children, one woman, and one man. Given the higher reports mentioned above, maximum alleged civilians deaths has been set by Airwars at sixty-four, with a maximum of seventeen women, twenty-eight children, and nineteen male civilians. Maximum alleged civilian injuries have been set at eighty-eight.

The parliamentary commission’s list of named civilian fatalities has also been used as the basis for the names listed below; a variant list provided by the Al-Karama Foundation has been incorporated into the list as a secondary source.

Responsibility for the strike was officially shouldered by the Yemeni government. On December 23rd 2009, the Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security, Rashad al-Alimi, told the Yemeni parliament that the recent air raids had been a “Yemeni decision carried out by Yemeni security units”, almotamar reported. Al-Alimi blamed Al-Qaeda for civilian casualties, describing them as “families of these elements brought to cook for them”. Officials told the New York Times that the US had “provided firepower, intelligence and other support” in the conduct of the mid-December strikes, but otherwise indicated that the Yemeni government was in the lead throughout. President Obama reportedly called President Saleh on the day of the strikes, to congratulate him on the “successful terror raids”, according to state press agency Saba.

On March 3rd 2010, when the findings of the Yemeni parliamentary commission were approved by parliament, “the Yemen government apologized to the victims’ families, describing the killings as a “mistake” during an operation that was meant to target al-Qa’ida militants, and said that committees would be established to provide compensation for the people killed and the property destroyed”, according to Amnesty.

At the time of the strike, however, US officials told ABC and Fox News that, on orders from President Obama, the US military had targeted alleged AQAP sites with cruise missiles on the morning of the Al-Majala strike. In June 2010, Amnesty International published a series of photographs showing the wreckage of a US-made BGM-109D Tomahawk cruise missile, as well as the BLU 97 A/B cluster munitions carried by it, in the Al-Majala area. These cluster munitions, Amnesty indicated, “are known to be held only by US forces”. The US strikes conducted on December 17th 2009 were codenamed “Copper Dune”, according to Human Rights Watch and other sources.

US responsibility for the strike was confirmed in a series of leaked classified minutes and cables. On December 21st 2009, Ambassador Stephen Seche summarised a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister al-Alimi: “The ROYG views the December 17 CT operations as a success and a benefit to Yemeni national interests, and appears not overly concerned about unauthorized leaks regarding the U.S. role and negative media attention to civilian deaths. ROYG officials continue to publicly maintain that the operation was conducted entirely by its forces, acknowledging U.S. support strictly in terms of intelligence sharing. Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi told the Ambassador on December 20 that any evidence of greater U.S. involvement ) such as fragments of U.S. munitions found at the sites – could be explained away as equipment purchased from the US”.

Al-Alimi also told Seche that, alongside some compensation, “the ROYG has recruited a number of local political and religious leaders to visit the ares affected by the air strikes in Abyan to explain o the people the need for the operation and the danger that AQAP poses to all Yemenis”. Al-Alimi assured Seche that “the Governor of Abyan visited the site after the operation and confirmed that there were no villages, houses, or civilian institutions that were damaged, only the training camp, and the encampments of the non-combatant Bedouin population”. Any civilians killed were acting in “collusion” with AQAP, Seche was told.

In January 2010, Yemeni President Saleh and US Central Command’s General Petraeus held a meeting, the minutes of which were published online by Wikileaks. “‘We’ll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours,’ Saleh said, prompting Deputy Prime Minister Alimi to joke that he had just ‘lied’ by telling Parliament that the bombs in Arhab, Abyan, and Shebwa were American-made but deployed by the ROYG”, the minutes read. During the meeting, Saleh told Petraeus that “mistakes were made” in the killing of civilians in Abyan. Petraeus responded only that “the only civilians killed were the wife and two children of an AQAP operative at the site”.

Shortly after the strike, Yemeni security and administrative sources, including the deputy governor of Abyan, indicated that the target had been suspected AQAP leader Mohammed Saleh al-Kazemi, also known as Mohammed Saleh al-Anbouri, who was killed in the strike. According to Al-Jazeera, al-Kazemi was “a Saudi who had resided in the country since fighting in Afghanistan. He was imprisoned in Yemen for two years before being released in 2005”. A Yemeni official told CNN that al-Kazemi “was implicated in planning the July 2007 suicide attack that killed nine people, including seven Spanish tourists at the Sun temple in the province of Marib”, and that he “also provided safe haven to foreign al Qaeda militants operating in Yemen”.

While Yemeni government sources initially stated that at least twenty-four AQAP militants in the “training camp” had been killed by the strike, other sources gave varying assessments of the numbers of alleged militants killed. Ahmad Al-Mayssary, governor of Abyan, told the Yemeni parliamentary committee that al-Kazimi had opened a “training camp” in Al-Majala, where over twenty “Saudi, Emirati and Pakistani Al-Qaeda members” trained, including “a Pakistani expert in poisons and explosives”. The commission’s final report, however, indicated only that, according to the Abyan governor and security leaders, fourteen AQAP members had been killed, and seven injured. Only two suspects, al-Kazimi and Abdul Rahman Ka’ed Al‐Thamary, were named by the report.

According to The Guardian, Deputy Prime Minister Al-Alimi stated that twenty-four AQAP suspects were killed, including “two Saudis, two Pakistanis and an unknown number of Egyptians, as well as five other unidentified foreigners”. A security source further indicated that five were wounded, and later arrested in Aden.

In a January 3rd report, from state news agency Saba, security sources named AQAP militants killed in the strike as “Mohammad al-Kazimi, Mithaq al-Jaled, Ubad Salem Muqbel, Samir Sheikh Mohammad Amqida (a cousin of terrorist Abdul-Mune’m al-Qahtani), Saudi Mohammad al-Thara’an and another Saudi element called al-Kindi”, as well as further unidentified persons. The report also indicated that “five terrorists” had been injured, named as “Abdullah Salem Ali, Haidrah Ali, Mohammad Salem, Abdurrahman Mohammad Qayed and Fattah al-Amri”. The report also stated that AQAP militants had “booby-trapped” the area after the strike, leading to post-strike fatalities that many blamed, instead, on unexploded ordnance.

At the time of the strike, however, local sources told Al-Masdar Online that only six Al-Qaeda members had been killed, and four wounded. Local sources, likewise, told Al-Sahwa Net that, in addition to al-Kazimi, Munir al-Ambouri and four other AQAP members had been killed. These numbers are taken by Airwars as the minimum alleged militant casualties in the strike.

Further reporting, however, raised considerable doubts over the belligerent status of these alleged militants. Locals told the parliamentary commission that twenty days before the strike, al-Kazimi and six others not from the local area, including Al‐Thamary, had begun work on a well near the Anbour family residential area, which was observed by the parliamentary commission. “They cooked their own food and lived in a small tent… We will not allow the erection of a camp in our neighbourhood which would harm our children,” the report quoted the locals as saying. After being released from prison, Al-Kazimi had obtained sheep and goats from local tribal leaders in exchange for his commitment not to involve himself with Al-Qaeda, the commission heard. He lived with his family on the edge of the residential area – all were reportedly killed in the strike. Members of the parliamentary commission later told Amnesty International that they had observed no evidence of a training camp in the area.

Local residents told Human Rights Watch that “they were not aware that [al-Kazimi] was engaged in military operations and had not seen a training camp, but added that they could not be sure”. “I challenge anybody in the United States of America, especially the American government, to prove that there was anybody from al-Qaeda at that site at all,” Sheikh Saleh bin Fareed, a member of the parliamentary committee, told Democracy Now. As Jeremy Scahill noted in The Nation, “whether anyone actually active in Al Qaeda was killed remains hotly contested”. Nasser Mahdi, a local, told Aden Press that the villagers “knew nothing about Al Qaeda in the first place… no one has ever invited us to join Al Qaeda”.

In the aftermath of the strike, local sources reported to the parliamentary commission, armed persons came at 3 PM and took away six dead bodies to an unknown location. Medical officials in Abyan told the commission that, soon after the strike, seven wounded and five dead individuals were escorted to the Mahnaf Hospital, in Lawdar district, but that the escorts prevented the identification of the dead. Names provided at the hospital were believed to be fictitious. These people prevented anybody from entering or leaving the hospital, until the dead and wounded were moved to another unknown location at 7 PM.

Whether al-Kazimi was or was not an active AQAP member, locals consistently indicated that an indiscriminate cruise missile salvo was wholly unnecessary. Mohammed Nasser Ali, a member of the Anbour family, told the parliamentary commission that, as to al-Kazimi, “if the government wants him it could have found him somewhere else; he was moving from Modiya to Mahfad to Shabwah. And if he committed murders in another location, killing everybody is a shame and a sin towards us and towards our children”. The director of Mahfad district told the commission, similarly, that al-Kazimi moved “freely” between Mahfad, Mudiyah, and Ataq, and could have been arrested at any time. “Grave mistakes occurred in the operation due to failures of information, which led to a large number of civilian deaths,” a provincial security official told Al-Jazeera. “If [al-Kazemi] was wanted, why didn’t the authorities come and arrest him all this time?”

“Kazimi has the right to live with his family, and if he is a member of al-Qaida then he should have been punished alone,” Mukbel Ali al-Anbour, a tribal leader, told The Guardian. “But 45 women and children and more than 1,000 animals were killed.”

The parliamentary report specified that the strike targeted two residential areas in the pastoral Katana valley, the first around a kilometre east of the second, both approximately three kilometres north of Al-Majala. The easternmost area was reported to have been home to the Haydara family for decades, while the other had been home to the Anbour family for three years. The families tended sheep and bees, with no contact from the state. The Governor of Abyan told the commission that residents had reported an aircraft flying low in the area, allegedly taking pictures, for over two months prior to the strike.

According to Jeremy Scahill, writing in the The Nation, at least one Tomahawk missile was launched from a submarine off the coast of Yemen that morning. The munitions found at the strike location were identified as BLU 97 A/B bomblets, which, The Nation reported, “explode into some 200 sharp steel fragments that can spray more than 400 feet away” – one Tomahawk missile can carry over 160 bomblets, which can also contain incendiary material. The number of missiles deployed by the US was unclear. According to Al-Karama, four missiles hit the Haydara tribal area, while another hit the Anbouri tribal area. “Authorization for the strikes was rushed through Saleh’s office because of ‘actionable’ intelligence that Al Qaeda suicide bombers were preparing for strikes in Sana,” Jeremy Scahill wrote.

“I thought a petrol tanker had exploded, but the mountains around me shook so hard,” a local resident, away from the village at the time of the strike, told Guardian journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Abdul Mutalib, another witness, said that he saw people and animals burning: ” “A woman was burning in her tent. I tried to get her out but I couldn’t”. While observing the debris of the strike, including melted shoes amid remnant bright-yellow cluster munitions, another, Muqbel al-Kazimi, repeated that “there were fewer than ten men, and they lived in a couple of tents on the edge of Ba Kazim camp… The fighters told the Bedouin they would dig a well for them to get water”.

Dexter Filkins, published in The New Yorker, spoke with survivors of the strike in March 2011. “Hussein Abdullah, a herdsman, told me that he had been tending a herd of goats and camels when Al Majalah was hit. He recalled lying in his tent at sunrise, half-awake, when there was an enormous flash. ‘The sky turned white,’ Abdullah said. ‘Everything suddenly disappeared.’ He was knocked unconscious, and when he came to, he told me, he saw his wife running toward him. ‘And when she threw her arms around me I felt blood all over me,’ he said. She died, as did his daughter; only his infant son survived”.

In February 2013, investigators for the Al-Karama foundation, on a joint mission with the HOOD human rights organisation, visited Al-Majala. “In the early morning, while I was on my way back, I heard explosions in the distance. I hurried home and when I saw the massacre, I was in shock. It was horrible: flames everywhere, bodies, tree and cars burning. The survivors were trying to rescue the injured and take stock of what had happened. Around 8:30am people came together and gathered the remains of the bodies that had been scattered in the trees and on the ground. Most homes and properties were destroyed. Many animals; goats, sheep, and camels had perished,” Muqbil Salem Luqia Al-Anbouri, who reportedly lost children, grandchildren, and three wives in the strike, told the investigators. “I found my beautiful daughter holding her youngest girl Khadidja. They were still burning even though their bodies were already completely carbonized,” he added.

Several sources reported that the devastation inflicted by the strike necessitated the opening of a mass grave near the village. “The residents picked up the shredded body parts of those killed without being able to distinguish one from another. The limbs were often mixed with those of animals that exploded at the same time. Without the ability to identify individuals, families buried their loved ones in a shared grave,” Al-Karama reported. The Yemeni parliamentary commission found that explosives had been spread over 1.5 kilometres of the strike site.

Saleh bin Fareed told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that “the clothes of the women and children were hanging from the treetops with the flesh on every tree, every rock. But you did not know if the flesh was of human beings or animals. Some bodies were intact but most, they melted”. Locals indicated to HRW that all thirty houses in the area had burned on the day of the strike, of which twelve were destroyed. Days after the incident, Al-Jazeera published video that apparently showed several civilians killed during the raid.

The strikes prompted a considerable public reaction in Yemen. Al-Jazeera reported that, in response to the strikes, “dozens” of Yemenis protested in the streets in Abyan governorate on December 18th 2009. On December 19th 2009, Aden Aden reported that cities in Shabwa and Abyan governorate saw the displacement of “a number of northern families”, “against the background of the Majala massacre”. One local-language Facebook source, “Helmy Al-Redfani”, indicated that a meeting of tribal sheikhs and leaders of the “Southern Movement” were meeting on Mahfad district on December 21st 2009. According to the Yemeni parliamentary report, it was at a gathering on that day that unexploded ordnance in the area detonated, killing and wounding several; Al-Karama reported that “hundreds” of tribal members had gathered on that day.

According to one Facebook user, “Bakr Ahmed”, the tribal National Solidarity Council condemned the strike, saying that it was “brutally unlawful and indiscriminate in the manner of its implementation, while the authority could use another method to achieve its goal without causing such destruction and destroying these innocent souls”.

Al-Qaeda members also sought to exploit the strike. A few days after the strike, The Guardian reported, AQAP leadership figures Nasser Wahayshi and Saeed al-Shihri travelled to Abyan to mourn al-Kazimi, while “al-Qaida member Mohamed Saleh al-Awlaki urged a gathering of thousands of tribesmen to stand by al-Qaida”. At the December 21st 2009 protest, Human Rights Watch reported that an AQAP operative declared: “Soldiers, you should know we do not want to fight you. There is no problem between you and us. The problem is between us and America and its agents. Beware taking the side of America!” According to The Guardian, the AQAP members were then tracked to Rafd, Shabwa governorate, where an alleged December 24th 2009 drone strike killed at least five.

Despite accepting the recommendations of the parliamentary report, the Yemeni government did not immediately implement its recommendations on clearing the Majala area of munitions and granting compensation to survivors, according to Human Rights Watch. According the leaked cable from US Ambassador Seche, the Yemeni government initially gave the Governor of Abyan 20 million rial to compensate the families of those killed and wounded.

A second Yemeni government offer of 5.5 million rials for each civilian killed was rejected by the villagers. A local told Human Rights Watch that the government “offered us 10 Toyota Hiluxes as a down payment if we agreed to the 5.5 million rials. We refused. We have said to the government from the start, we want 10 billion rials [$51,000] compensation. We were flexible. We could have agreed on a lower sum. But the government refused”. Some families finally received some compensation, for property damage only, in mid-2013, dividing 37 million rials between ten households. In 2012, according to al-Masdar Online, Akhbar Al-Youm reported that a US official had secretly supplied $1m in compensation for each person killed; no other known sources reported this.

Fearing that a government clearance effort would hide evidence of the strike, villagers told Human Rights Watch that they had called for an international site clearance team.

Yemeni journalist Abd al-Ilah Haidar al-Shayi’, who initially reported on the US role in the al-Majala strike, was imprisoned in February 2011 on terrorism charges for a term of five years. According to Jeremy Scahill, writing in the New Yorker and speaking with Democracy Now, it was al-Shayi’ who provided the first images of the munitions wreckage to Amnesty International, enabling the identification of a US involvement in the strike.

In Democracy Now, al-Shayi’ was quoted as saying, from a cage in a Yemeni courtroom: “When they hid murderers of children and women in Abyan, when I revealed the locations and camps of nomads and civilians in Abyan, Shabwa and Arhab, when they were going to be hit by cruise missiles, it was on that day they decided to arrest me. You noticed in the court how they have turned all of my journalistic contributions and quotations to international reporters and channels into accusations. Yemen, this is a place where the young journalist becomes successful, he is considered with suspicion”.

In February 2011, when President Saleh agreed to pardon al-Shayi’, President Obama called Saleh and “expressed concern” regarding his release from prison, leading to the pardon being scrapped. In July 2013, al-Shayi’s sentence was commuted to two year’s house arrest by President Hadi. US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that the US was “concerned and disappointed by his early release”, according to the Associated Press.

When Al-Karama investigators visited the area, locals reported to them that several residents exposed to the strike had gotten cancer in the subsequent years, and wanted to know whether there might have been a link with the munitions used.

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured at approximately 6:00 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (5)

Mohammed Nasser Awad Jaljala

60 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Nousa Mohammed Saleh El-Souwa

30 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Nasser Mohammed Nasser

6 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Arwa Mohammed Nasser

4 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Fatima Mohammed Nasser

2 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Family members (7)

Ali Mohammed Nasser

35 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Qubla Al-Kharibi Salem

25 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as 30 years old killed

Afrah Ali Mohammed Nasser

9 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Zayda Ali Mohammed Nasser

7 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Hoda Ali Mohammed Nasser

5 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Sheikha Ali Mohammed Nasser

4 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Fatima Ali Mohammed Nasser

13 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama injured

Family members (3)

Ahmed Mohammed Nasser Jaljala

30 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as 32 years old killed

Qubla Salem Nasser

21 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as 25 years old killed

Mouhsena Ahmed Adiyou

50 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as 67 years old killed

Family members (7)

Abdullah Mokbel Salem Louqye

37 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Saleha Ali Ahmed Mansour

30 years old female pregnant Also listed by Al-Karama, as pregnant killed

Ibrahim Abdullah Mokbel Salem Louqye

13 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as 12 years old killed

Asmaa Abdullah Mokbel Salem Louqye

9 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Salma Abdullah Mokbel Salem Louqye

4 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Fatima Abdullah Mokbel Salem Louqye

3 years old female Also listedby Al-Karama killed

Sumia Abdallah Muqbil Salem Luqia

1.5 years old female Listed only by Al-Karama killed

Family members (7)

Ali Mokbel Salem Louqye

36 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Hanaa Abdallah Monser

28 years old female pregnant Also listed by Al-Karama, as pregnant killed

Moheile Mohammed Saeed Yaslem

30 years old male Not listed by Al-Karama killed

Safaa Ali Mokbel Salem

25 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as aged 2.5 years killed

Khadije Ali Mokbel Louqye

1 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Hanaa Ali Mokbel Louqye

6 years old female Not listed by Al-Karama killed

Mohammed Ali Mokbel Salem Louqye

4 years old male Not listed by Al-Karama killed

Family members (5)

Fatima Yaslem Al-Rawami

67 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Maryam Awad Nasser

43 years old female pregnant Also listed by Al-Karama, as pregnant killed

Jawass Mokbel Salem Louqye

15 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as aged 1.5 years killed

Muqbil Salem Luqia

Adult male Listed by Al-Karama injured

Nada Muqbil Salem Luqia

2.7 years old female Listed by Al-Karama injured

Family members (4)

Abdullah Awad Sheikh

65 years old male killed

Maryam Saleh Nasser

54 years old female Listed by Al-Karama injured

Muqbil Abdallah ‘Awdh Shikh

22 years old female Listed only by Al-Karama killed

Ahmed Abdallah ‘Awdh Shikh

18 years old female Listed only by Al-Karama killed

Family members (5)

Hanane Mohammed Jadib

25 years old female pregnant Also listed by Al-Karama, as pregnant, but not explicitly as deceased killed

Maryam Hussein Abdullah Awad

2 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Shafiq Hussein Abdullah Awad

1 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Khadija Husain ‘Abdallah ‘Awdh

2 years old female Only listed by Al-Karama killed

Husain Abdallah ‘Awdh Shikh

30 years old male Listed by Al-Karama, and not explicitly as deceased; Yemeni parliamentary report described as only survivor of his family

Family members (4)

Maryam Mokbel Salem Louqye

38 years old female pregnant Listed by Al-KArama as 28, and as pregnant killed

Sheikha Nasser Mahdi Ahmad Bouh

3 years old female Also listed by Al-Karama killed

‘Aisha Nasser Mahdi Ahmed Buh

1 years old female Listed by Al-Karama injured

Nasser Mahdi Ahmed Buh

38 years old male Listed only by Al-Karama, and not explicitly as deceased

Family members (7)

Amina Abdullah Awad Sheikh

27 years old female pregnant Listed by Al-Karama as 28, and as pregnant killed

Maha Mohammed Saleh Mohammed

12 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama, as daughter killed

Soumaya Mohammed Saleh Mohammed

9 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama, as daughter killed

Shafika Mohammed Saleh Mohammed

4 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama, as daughter killed

Shafiq Mohammed Saleh Mohammed

2 years old male Also listed by Al-Karama killed

Saleh Muhammad Saleh

11 years old male Listed by Al-Karama injured

Jamila Muhammad Saleh

1 years old female Listed by Al-Karama injured

Family members (5)

Salem ‘Atef ‘Ali Basyul

62 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as killed in 2012 killed

Nur Sa’id Salem Lathaf

55 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as injured in 2012 injured

Warda Salem ‘Atef ‘Ali

13 years old female Listed by Al-Karama as injured in 2012 injured

Khaled Salem ‘Atef ‘Ali

12 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as injured in 2012 injured

‘Ali Salem ‘Atef ‘Ali

10 years old male Listed by Al-Karama as injured in 2012 injured

The victims were named as:

Khaled Mohammed Ali

Adult male Reportedly killed by unexploded ordnance killed

Nasser Saleh Al-Soueidi

Adult male Reportedly killed by unexploded ordnance killed

Mithaq Al-Jild

Adult male Reportedly killed by unexploded ordnance killed

Summary

Strike status

Declared strike
Strike type

Airstrike and/or Artillery

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

47 – 64
(22–23 children12–17 women11–19 men)
Civilians reported injured

23–88
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Known attacker

US Forces
Known target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

6–24
Belligerents reported injured

4

Sources (66) [ collapse]

AFP via Himalayan Times
- English
Archive
- English
AP via The Star
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
The Nation Press
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
New York Times
- English
Archive
- English
@Albaidanews
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
ABC News
- English
Archive
- English
Fox News
- English
Archive
- English
Aden Press via Ma7room
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
AP via The Star
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Video
- English
Archive
- Video
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
New York Times
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
France24
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
CNN
- English
Archive
- English
Long War Journal
- English
Archive
- English
AP via Journal Gazette
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Sahwa Net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Alkhaleej
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Aden Aden
- Facebook
- Arabic
Archive
- Facebook
- Arabic
Helmy al-redfani
- Facebook
- Arabic
Archive
- Facebook
- Arabic
Hudhud
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Almotamar
- English
Archive
- English
Bakr Ahmed
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
ROYG Embassy
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Saba
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Special Parliamentarian Investigating Committee in the Provinces of Lahj and Abyen Investigating Committee’s Report On Security Events In the Province of Abyen (via CCR Justice)
- English
Archive
- English
Special Parliamentarian Investigating Committee in the Provinces of Lahj and Abyen Investigating Committee’s Report On Security Events In the Province of Abyen (via CCR Justice)
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Human Rights Watch
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
CNN
- English
Archive
- English
La Presse
- English
Archive
- English
Amnesty
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Wikileaks
- English
Archive
- English
Amnesty International
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
The White House
- English
Archive
- English
The New Yorker
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
Salon
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
New Yorker
- English
Archive
- English
Democracy Now
- English
Archive
- English
Alkarama Foundation
- English
Archive
- English
Human Rights Watch
- English
Archive
- English
Arij.Net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Shabwa Press
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Associated Press via Yahoo
- English
Archive
- English
Arab Gate
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Allayyam
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Wikileaks
- English
Archive
- English

Media
from sources (24) [ collapse]

This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

The al-Majala cruise missile strike resulted in the deaths of almost fifty civilians, including several women and children (al-Jazeera, December 17th 2009)
Video and images broadcast in the aftermath of the strikes showed a considerable death toll (Al-Jazeera, December 17th 2009)
Video and images broadcast in the aftermath of the strikes showed a considerable death toll (Al-Jazeera, December 19th 2009)
Pictures taken at the scene of the strike showed unexploded BLU 97 cluster bomblets and Tomahawk cruise missile wreckage, which only the US has the known capability to deploy (via Amnesty International)
The wreckage of a Tomahawk cruise missile chassis, reportedly pictured at the site of the strike (via Amnesty International)
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Unexploded cluster munitions, which may have held incendiary material, continued to kill civilians years after the strike (Arabsgate, January 28th 2011)
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

The dead, from the initial strike, were from just two family groups, according to a Yemeni parliamentary commission (Arabsgate, January 18th 2011)
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

The number of dead, and the impossibility of identification in some cases, necessitated the opening of a mass grave near the strike location (Arabsgate, January 28th 2011)
Yemeni journalist Abd al-Ilah Haidar al-Shayi', who initially reported on US involvement in the al-Majala strike, was imprisoned soon after on terrorism charges (The Nation, March 13th 2012)
Al-Shayi's sentence was due to be commuted in 2011, but US pressure allegedly led to his continued imprisonment (Associated Press, July 24th 2013)
Images of remnant munitions, pictured in Al-Majala by Al-Karama Foundation investigators (Al-Karama, September 2013)
Nada, a young girl who survived the al-Majala strike, in February 2013 (Al-Karama, September 2013)
Moqbil Boulquish reportedly lost twenty-eight members of his family in the strike (Al-Karama, September 2013)
Yemeni opposition groups, including exiled separatist leader Ali Salem al-Bayd, were outraged by the strikes (al-Jazeera. December 19th 2009)
Nada Mobqil Loqyah, 5, with her guardian Salaha Moqbil Loqyah. Nada was orphaned in the 2009 strike on al-Majalah. (via Human Rights Watch, 2013)
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

Sumaya Muhammad al-Anbouri, 9, was among 41 civilians killed in a US cruise missile strike that also killed 14 alleged AQAP militants in al-Majalah on December 17, 2009. (via Human Rights Watch, 2009)
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

A number of children reportedly died from their injuries while on their way to hospital (Shabwa Press, December 17th 2014)
Yemeni officials described the target of the strike as Saleh Mohammed Ali al-Anbouri, also known as al-Kazemi, allegedly an AQAP leader. Locals, however, indicated that he had committed not to involve himself with AQAP after being recently released from prison. Him and his family all died in the strike. (CNN, December 19th 2009)
Moqbil Abu-Lukaish sits on remnants of one of the Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by the US Navy that struck al-Majalah on December 17, 2009. (via Human Rights Watch, 2012)
Wreckage of a Tomahawk cruise missile, reportedly pictured in al-Majala (via Amnesty International)
Wreckage of a Tomahawk cruise missile, pictured in al-Majala (via Amnesty International)
Wreckage of a Tomahawk cruise missile, pictured in al-Majala (via Amnesty International)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Majala (المعجلة), for which the generic coordinates are: 13.972421, 46.451482. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

Known belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces

Summary

Strike status

Declared strike
Strike type

Airstrike and/or Artillery

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

47 – 64
(22–23 children12–17 women11–19 men)
Civilians reported injured

23–88
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Known attacker

US Forces
Known target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

6–24
Belligerents reported injured

4

Sources (66) [ collapse]

AFP via Himalayan Times
- English
Archive
- English
AP via The Star
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
The Nation Press
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
New York Times
- English
Archive
- English
@Albaidanews
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
ABC News
- English
Archive
- English
Fox News
- English
Archive
- English
Aden Press via Ma7room
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
AP via The Star
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Video
- English
Archive
- Video
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
New York Times
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
France24
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
CNN
- English
Archive
- English
Long War Journal
- English
Archive
- English
AP via Journal Gazette
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Sahwa Net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Alkhaleej
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Aden Aden
- Facebook
- Arabic
Archive
- Facebook
- Arabic
Helmy al-redfani
- Facebook
- Arabic
Archive
- Facebook
- Arabic
Hudhud
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Almotamar
- English
Archive
- English
Bakr Ahmed
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
ROYG Embassy
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Saba
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Special Parliamentarian Investigating Committee in the Provinces of Lahj and Abyen Investigating Committee’s Report On Security Events In the Province of Abyen (via CCR Justice)
- English
Archive
- English
Special Parliamentarian Investigating Committee in the Provinces of Lahj and Abyen Investigating Committee’s Report On Security Events In the Province of Abyen (via CCR Justice)
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Human Rights Watch
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
CNN
- English
Archive
- English
La Presse
- English
Archive
- English
Amnesty
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
Wikileaks
- English
Archive
- English
Amnesty International
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
The Guardian
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
The White House
- English
Archive
- English
The New Yorker
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
Al Jazeera
- English
Archive
- English
Salon
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
American Civil Liberties Union
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
New Yorker
- English
Archive
- English
Democracy Now
- English
Archive
- English
Alkarama Foundation
- English
Archive
- English
Human Rights Watch
- English
Archive
- English
Arij.Net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Shabwa Press
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Associated Press via Yahoo
- English
Archive
- English
Arab Gate
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Allayyam
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Wikileaks
- English
Archive
- English

Incident Code

USYEM007-B

Previous code

YEM006

Previous code

USYEM007

Incident date

January 15, 2010

Location

الاجاشر, Al Ajashar, Saada, Yemen

Geolocation

17.183333, 44.800000 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

An alleged Yemeni security forces strike or US airstrike reportedly struck two vehicles in Al Ajasher between Sa’ada and Jawf province. Multiple sources reported the alleged air strike took place in the afternoon of January 15th 2010. Initially sources reported that up to seven alleged AQAP militants had been killed in the strike. However later sources disagreed on belligerents being killed, with an AQAP source stating that militants were only injured. No civilian harm was reported.

Al- Arabiya reported: “Two cars carrying eight dangerous Al Qaeda members were hit in an area between Saada and Al-Jawf,” the source said, adding, “Perhaps two survived and managed to escape.”

Al-Arabiya named Ayed al-Shabwani and Abdullah Hadi al-Tais as being killed in the incident. Almotamar added the names of Ammar Ubada Al-Waili and Saleh Al-Tais as hit in the strike but Al- Arabiya quoted a Yemeni security source who said that Ammar and Saleh survived the strikes.

Critical threats journalists also named Abu Ayman al Masri as being killed in the alleged strike however Jamestown later reported he had survived and later been arrested in August 2010: “Kuwaiti daily recently published a transcript of the interrogation of Shaykh Ibrahim Muhammad Salih al-Banna (a.k.a. Abu Ayman al-Masri), the Egyptian former intelligence chief of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) who was arrested in early August (al-Jarida, November 4; almethaq.net, August 16).”

Initial sources also named Qassem Al-Rimi as being killed in the alleged strike however it was later reported by multiple sources that he also survived.

Multiple sources corroborated that the named belligerents were high profile men in the Al Qaeda network however Reuters reported that the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda denied that any of their men had been killed in the alleged strike: ‘”The latest of these claims is that it killed six of them between the provinces of al-Jawf and Saada. We assure our Muslim nation that none of the Mujahideen were killed in that strike, but some have suffered mild injuries.”’ Given this, the number of belligerents reported to have been killed is between 0-7.

The Novak blog added “AQAP alleged the Yemeni government was engaged in a propaganda campaign to deceive the United States in order to justify increased counter-terror funding from the US and other Western nations.”

Involvement of the US has been questioned in multiple sources. The NYtimes reported: “It was not clear whether the airstrike was carried out with help or coordination from the United States, which has provided firepower and intelligence for some recent raids on Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based affiliate.” The source added context that the US involvement in Yemen had been complicated due to “the specter of American intervention arouses anger in Yemen and has been used by Al Qaeda to recruit new members.” The Long War Journal reported that: “Intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on the strike.” Given the precision nature of the strike on two moving vehicles, and the limitations of the Yemeni air force, it seems unlikely that the Yemeni air force carried out the strikes.

The incident occured at approximately 2:30 pm local time.

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 attackers

US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

0–7
Belligerents reported injured

0–3

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Saba News
- English
Archive
- English
Long War Journal
- English
Archive
- English
Critical Threats
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
Jane Novak blog
- English
Archive
- English
Jamestown
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Shorfa
- English
Archive
- English
US State Department
- English
Archive
- English
The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
ABC News' Reporter James Gordon Meek
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
NBC News
- English
Archive
- English
Alarabiya.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Alriyadh
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Almotamar
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
BBC Persia
- English
Archive
- English
Alriyadh
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
The New York Times
- English
Archive
- English

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

Abu Hurayrah Qasim al Raymi (Long War Journal, January 15, 2010)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the area of Al Ajashar (الاجاشر), for which the generic coordinates are: 17.183333, 44.800000. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

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 attackers

US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

0–7
Belligerents reported injured

0–3

Sources (18) [ collapse]

Saba News
- English
Archive
- English
Long War Journal
- English
Archive
- English
Critical Threats
- English
Archive
- English
The Nation
- English
Archive
- English
Jane Novak blog
- English
Archive
- English
Jamestown
- English
Archive
- English
Reuters
- English
Archive
- English
Al-Shorfa
- English
Archive
- English
US State Department
- English
Archive
- English
The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
ABC News' Reporter James Gordon Meek
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
NBC News
- English
Archive
- English
Alarabiya.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Alriyadh
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Almotamar
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
BBC Persia
- English
Archive
- English
Alriyadh
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
The New York Times
- English
Archive
- English

Incident Code

USYEM054-C

Previous code

YEM046

Previous code

USYEM052

Incident date

March 30, 2012

Location

عزان, Azzan, Shabwa, Yemen

Geolocation

14.325037, 47.448612 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Street level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

Initial reports suggested that one civilian was killed and six to eight civilians, including three to six children, were injured in an alleged US drone strike targeting a vehicle allegedly carrying AQAP members, in the city of Azzan in Shabwa Province at 4pm on the 30th of March 2012. A later report by Akkarama on the attack revealed that one civilian was killed and six children and a woman were injured by flying shrapnel. Furthermore between two and five militants were killed and three others were injured.

The Yemen Times alleged that the drones launched two missiles at a Hyundai which was thought to belong to militants with connections to Al Qaeda.

Reuters reported that officials and residents claim that a bystander was killed and five other civilians wounded. Zeenews added that an official at the local hospital in Azzan claimed, “six people in a car travelling in the opposite direction of the targeted vehicle were wounded, one of whom later died.”

Based on intelligence, it was reported by the Yemen Times that an Al Qaeda leader named Nasser al-Wahaishi, also known as Abu Naseer, was in Azzan and in the vicinity. However, he was not killed in this strike (he was killed in a US drone strike in 2015). The paper reported that after the attack, locals found the bodies of seven people scattered over the road. The source identified the civilian killed as: Mohamed Saleh Al-Suna, 55 from Al-Hawta city in Shabwa died from injuries sustained from shrapnel in the strike”.

The children injured were identified by Alkarama as:

Amin Ali Hassan al Wisabi, 13, hit by shrapnel in the right thigh

Hamza Khaled Saleh Ba Zihyad, 10, hit by shrapnel in the chest

Saleh Ali Omar Ba Ziyad, 14, hit by shrapnel in the thigh

Merouan Nasser Ahmed Suleiman Ba Btah, 14, hit by shrapnel in the right foot

Abdallah Muhammed Muhammed Ba Qtiyan, 14, hit by shrapnel in the back

Saleh Abdelfattah Abdallah Haymid Ba Qtiyan, 12, hit by shrapnel in the back

Another of the victims was a woman by the name of Samira Hamadi Al-Wisabi, aged 48. Her son Nadir, aged 14, recalls: “My mother suffered paralysis during the bombing.”

China Daily reported that: “Medics told Xinhua anonymously that eight civilians were injured during the air strike and had been brought to treatment in a nearby hospital.” and further quoted a local resident who told the news agency: “Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the bombing area following the air raid”.

Yemen Fox also reported on the incident and claimed that the attack targeted Al Qaeda leader Nasser al Wahaisihi, also known as Abu Naseer. It quoted a local who said that a local named Seleh al-Senh (likely the same as the civilian above) was killed and three children injured.

A year later a report by Alkarama investigated the incident and revealed that Mohamed Saleh Al-Suna (60) who was passing by was killed and six children were injured due to the attack. Amin Ali Hassan Al-Wisabi (13) was quoted saying: “I was sitting with my friends there, and we were going to play football, when suddenly we were shaken by the sound of a violent explosion. I looked in front of me and saw a car burning. A missile had struck it. Shrapnel hit me in my foot, but I didn’t feel any pain, and I ran towards the house with blood flowing from my injury. I saw the car burning beside me and one of my friends lost consciousness. Someone came with a car and took us to the hospital.”

The Long War Journal stated that the US aircraft targeted a vehicle driving in Azzan, allegedly transporting senior AQAP leaders after leaving a mosque after a Friday prayer. The Journal reported that a Yemeni official told the associated press that” 4 AQAP fighters were killed and three critically wounded”.

Boston News added that the three injured militants were brought to the Al Qaeda-run hospital in Shabwa.

Contrary to the Journal and Boston News, Reuters, Aljazeera and Zeennews claim the death of five AQAP militants. Reuters claims that “at least five suspected Al Qaeda militants travelling in a car in southern Yemen’s Shabwa province were killed when a drone strike set their vehicle on fire” while the Alkarma report states the death of two militants. A tweet from @BaFana3 quoted local sources who said that Fahd AlQuso was killed in the strikes. However, he was not killed in this strike – he was killed by another US drone strike in May 2012.

All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the casualties to a US drone strike.

Reuters revealed that as retaliation and as a reaction to the attack, a gunman believed to be connected to the militants killed and blew up a gas pipeline which ”transports gas to a facility whose leading stakeholder is French oil major Total at Balhaf port on the Arabian Sea” energy workers said.

The incident occured at 16:00:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Mohamed Saleh Al-Suna

Adult male killed

Saleh Ali Omar Ba Ziyad

14 years old injured

Hamza Khaled Saleh Ba Zihyad

10 years old injured

Abdallah Muhammed Muhammed Ba Qtiyan

14 years old injured

Amin Ali Hassan al Wisabi

13 years old injured

Saleh Abdelfattah Abdallah Haymid Ba Qtiyan

12 years old injured

Samira Hamadi Al-Wisabi

48 years old female injured

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

1
(1 man)
Civilians reported injured

6–8
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

2–5
Belligerents reported injured

3

Sources (38) [ collapse]

longwarjournal.org
- English
Archive
- English
boston.com
- English
Archive
- English
reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
uk.reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
@Shuaibalmosawa
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@adamgoldmanNYT
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@AlArabiya_Eng
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@alguneid
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@RT_com
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@alguneid
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
presstv.com
- English
Archive
- English
@Hidayh
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@BaFana3
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
aljazeera.com
- English
Archive
- English
chinadaily.com.cn
- English
Archive
- English
zeenews.india.com
- English
Archive
- English
edition.cnn.com
- English
Archive
- English
almasdaronline.com
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Archive
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@BaFana3
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Archive
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thenational.ae
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Archive
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yementimes.com
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Archive
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reuters.com
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Archive
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yemenfox.net
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Archive
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alkarama.org
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Archive
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theguardian.com
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nytimes.com
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@AlArab_Qatar
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Archive
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@mnyr2011
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Saba
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Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

"Three al-Qaeda members were killed in Shabwa province by an air strike" Image posted by Islam Times

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention several locations in the town of Azzan (عزان), the main road, a land road in the Western outskirts of the town and the main market. A possible location for the land road is: 14.329183, 47.440177; the main road can be found here: 14.325037, 47.448612. The location of the main market is unknown.

US Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces

Official source

U.S. drones attack militants in Pakistan, Yemen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-operated drones carried out deadly missile strikes against suspected al Qaeda targets in Pakistan and Yemen on Friday, U.S. government sources said.

There was no connection between the targets in the two locations, other than the fact that both sets of militants who were attacked were believed to have had some connection with al Qaeda affiliates, according to the sources.
Reports from Aden said that at least five suspected al Qaeda militants travelling in a car in southern Yemen’s Shabwa province were killed when a drone strike set their vehicle on fire. Witnesses said a second drone hit an empty building.
In Miranshah, the main town in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, a drone strike killed four suspected militants and wounded three others, local intelligence officials and militants said. An intelligence official claimed the dead men were local Taliban militants.
Both drone strikes are understood to have been conducted as part of a long-running campaign intended to kill and disrupt al-Qaeda using missile-firing drones operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, which declines comment on such operations.
U.S. officials cited the latest drone attacks as a refutation of recent news reports suggesting the United States was curtailing drone operations.
One report, which U.S. officials denied, said that earlier this year, the United States had offered a suspension of drone attacks in Pakistan in connection with efforts to improve strained bilateral relations.
A U.S. official said: “The United States is conducting, and will continue to conduct, the counter terrorism operations it needs to protect the U.S. and its interests.”
The official added that the United States and Pakistan were continuing to engage in “an ongoing dialogue about how best the two countries can enhance their cooperation against al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that threaten the citizens and interests of both countries.”
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
U.S. officials acknowledged the rate of drone strikes in Pakistan had declined over the past year.
For a two-month period beginning late last year, attacks were suspended, in part to ease Pakistani anger over a November border incident in which U.S. forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in an aerial bomb attack along a remote area of the Afghan/Pakistan border.
U.S. drone strikes in North Waziristan, where U.S. authorities believe many al Qaeda and Taliban militants take shelter, resumed in January. But the rate of attacks has remained scaled back compared to more frequent strikes which followed a loosening of the rules for targeting such attacks in the final months of the Bush administration.
Bush’s new rules of engagement for drones, in which gatherings of suspected “foreign fighters” could be targeted without hard information that a “high value” militant leader was among them, remained unchanged under president Barack Obama, until relations between Washington and Islamabad started on a downward spiral in late 2010.
U.S.-Pakistan tensions continued to deteriorate following incidents like the May 2011 raid in which U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden at a hideout near Pakistan’s principal military academy and the wayward U.S. airstrike last November.
As a consequence, in recent months the frequency of drone strikes has been noticeably scaled back. One U.S. official said that under updated procedures, more and higher-level, advance scrutiny is being given within the U.S. government before authorizations for attacks are issued.

According to a U.S. source, the latest drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen targeted persons who could be considered as suspected members of the leadership of al Qaeda’s Pakistani and Yemeni affiliates.
In neither case were the targets, whose fates are unconfirmed, figures who would be known to the general public as militant leaders, the source said.

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

1
(1 man)
Civilians reported injured

6–8
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

2–5
Belligerents reported injured

3

Sources (38) [ collapse]

longwarjournal.org
- English
Archive
- English
boston.com
- English
Archive
- English
reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
uk.reuters.com
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reuters.com
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Archive
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@Shuaibalmosawa
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Archive
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- Arabic
@adamgoldmanNYT
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Archive
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@AlArabiya_Eng
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Archive
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@alguneid
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Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@RT_com
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Archive
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@alguneid
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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presstv.com
- English
Archive
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@Hidayh
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Archive
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@BaFana3
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Archive
- Twitter
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aljazeera.com
- English
Archive
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chinadaily.com.cn
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Archive
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zeenews.india.com
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Archive
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edition.cnn.com
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Archive
- English
almasdaronline.com
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Archive
- English
@BaFana3
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- English
Archive
- Twitter
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thenational.ae
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yementimes.com
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Archive
- English
reuters.com
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Archive
- English
yemenfox.net
- English
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alkarama.org
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theguardian.com
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nytimes.com
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@AlArab_Qatar
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@mnyr2011
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Saba
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Islam Times
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Sabaeinet
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@Y_22_Y
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Freedom-ye
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@Aloula_Yemen
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Incident Code

USYEM099-B

Previous code

YEM082

Previous code

USYEM094

Incident date

June 7, 2012

Location

جعار, Desert road between Ja'ar and Zinjibar, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.164411, 45.337337 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Subdistrict level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

On June 7th 2012, there were reports that Yemeni or US warplanes conducted an airstrike against a vehicle carrying suspected Al Qaeda militants on the desert road between Ja’ar and Zinjibar in Abyan province. According to anonymous officials and an anonymous military source speaking to local and international media, three to five of the passengers were killed and up to three other suspected militants were injured.

Nashwan news quoted a military source claiming that five suspected Al Qaeda militants were killed and three injured in the airstrike. They also cited another source said that the strike “was carried out on a site where the terrorists are located in Jabal Sarar in the Darajaj area, east of Jaar, where a car was destroyed and burned, and the terrorists were killed, and a mortar cannon was destroyed in the same place”. It is unclear if this report documents a separate incident, as it mentions east of Jaar rather than between Jaar and Zinjibar.

Witnesses speaking to Xinhua described the vehicle as a pick up truck that was hit as it passed through a desert road between Jaar and Zinjibar. “The Al Qaeda vehicle was loaded with heavy weapons before it was bombed, causing a huge explosion at the area,” the witnesses told Xinhua.

Xinhua and Nashwan News attributed the airstrikes to the Yemeni military. However, the Yemeni Air Force reportedly lacked the capability to hit moving vehicles at this time.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

Strike status

Contested strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

0
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attackers

US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

3–5
Belligerents reported injured

3

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Xinhua
- English
Archive
- English
Associated Press
- English
Archive
- English
@arabicstrong
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@aleshteraki
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Nashwan News
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a desert road between Ja’ar (جعار) and Zinjibar (زنجبار‎) in the province Abyan (أبين‎). The generic coordinates for the middle point of the road between Ja’ar (جعار) and Zinjibar (زنجبار‎) are: 13.164411, 45.337337. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to further verify the location.

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, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

0
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attackers

US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

3–5
Belligerents reported injured

3

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Xinhua
- English
Archive
- English
Associated Press
- English
Archive
- English
@arabicstrong
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@aleshteraki
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Nashwan News
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic

Incident Code

USYEM143-B

Previous code

YEM118

Previous code

USYEM134

Incident date

January 19, 2013

Location

وادي عبيدة, Wadi Abida, Marib, Yemen

Geolocation

15.515556, 45.395278 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

On January 19th 2013, before 11pm, the second of three alleged US drone strikes hit the Al Shabwan Wadi Abidah region of the Marib governorate, killing as many as three militants.

Marib Press, Yemen Observer, and Enduring American World View corroborated that one of the reported militants killed was Ismaeel Bin Saeed Bin Jameel and referred to Ismaeel as a local AQAP chief, while Al Masdar Online reported that Ismaeel belonged to the valley tribes and that his brother, a leader in Al Qaeda, Ali Saeed Jamil, was also killed in clashes between Government forces and Al Qaeda fighters in July 2011 in Abyan Governorate. However, local man Raed Fad Abdullah said he was not a senior militant.

Long War Journal linked the other two bodies to two Saudi nationals called Abu Ali Abdullah al-Suweed and Abu al-Zubeir al-Qassimi as per a “Jihadist biography”.AQAP declared a low level Saudi fighter was killed in a US strike in Marib. Abdullah al Ali al Suweed was killed ‘with a group of his brothers in the month of Safar 1434’. According to the Long War Journal this corresponds to December 2012 to January 2013.

AQAP also announced the death of a senior militant from Saudi Arabia. Abu al Zubeir al Qassimi was an inmate in the al Safra prison in Saudi Arabia before moving to Yemen for training. He commanded militants in Abyan province before taking command of fighters in Marib province. According to the Long War Journal al Qassimi was killed in Abyan province in an unspecified strike. However SITE Intelligence in a March 6 post said he died in Marib on an unspecified date (link unavailable). SITE also gave al Qassimi’s alias as Walid al Harbi. A Walid Jarbou’ Al-Harbi – a failed student of Qassim University – was reportedly arrested in connection to an April 2005 gun battle with Saudi security forces. He was jailed for over a year before fleeing to Yemen in 2009. He has been listed as a wanted terrorist by the Saudi ministry of interior.

Other sources claimed that the two other bodies could not be identified as they were charred.

The suspected AQAP militants were allegedly traveling in a Vitara car between 2 km (Marib press) and 8 km in the Ghodaigah area (Yemen Observer) away from the first strike in Al-Masil which hit an orange farm. Xinhua however reported that the same drone fired a second strike and killed two militants inspecting the car that was hit by the first strike. A witness quoted in multiple news sources said that the car was engulfed in flames. Yemen Observer referenced an earlier strike that missed the car and allowed the passengers to flee.

Local sources referred to the drone strikes as being carried out by the US. The Yemen defence ministry reportedly confirmed the strikes hit Mareb province but would not confirm if the Yemen Air Force or US forces carried out the attacks. The Yemen Air Force has been shown to lack the technical capacity to launch precision strikes, or fly at night.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

Unknown
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

2–3

Sources (57) [ collapse]

@Mo_Alsalhi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
marebpress.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@SUHFNET_YE
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@barakish_net
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@taizcity
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@news_yemen
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
almasdaronline.com
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@thwrataltagher
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
marebpress.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@althahab1985
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@yementodaytvnet
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@alawialbasha
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@al_azzani7
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@rezqali1
- Twitter
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Archive
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@alash3r
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@sah__news
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
yemen-press.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Yemen Observer
- English
Archive
- English
AP/Huffington Post
- English
Archive
- English
dawn.com
- English
Archive
- English
uk.reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
Voice of America
- English
Archive
- English
aljazeera.com
- English
Archive
- English
rferl.org
- English
Archive
- English
dw.de
- English
Archive
- English
en.trend.az
- English
Archive
- English
news.xinhuanet.com
- English
Archive
- English
inquisitr.com
- English
Archive
- English
marebpress.net
- English
Archive
- English
Yeme Post
- English
Archive
- English
longwarjournal.org
- English
Archive
- English
saudigazette.com.sa
- English
Archive
- English
Enduring America World View
- English
Archive
- English
criticalthreats.org
- English
Archive
- English
@Shuaibalmosawa
- Twitter
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Archive
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@BaFana3
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Archive
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@AP
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@CBSNews
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@ionacraig
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@KolHaolam
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@ASLANmedia
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@Vincent__Patel
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@KamalFaridi
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@vbarabs
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@mushtaqtarakai
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@MARKETRISER
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@tayabkh6
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@KamalFaridi
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@MeoNews
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@adammbaron
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@AngelaSites
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@EmilieBuffiere
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@joshbegley
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@kgosztola
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@Caramelie1
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@NoonArabia
- Twitter
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Archive
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@kimmierae61
- Twitter
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Archive
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Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

Two Saudi operatives, Abdullah al Ali al Suweed (left) and Abu al Zubeir al Qassimi (right), died in suspected U.S drone attacks on Wadi Abadi, January 19th (via Long War Journal)
A Saudi man, Walid Jarbou Eid Al-Jaleedi Al-Harbi, was documented as killed in suspected U.S drone strikes on Wadi Abadi January 19th. The Saudi Gazette alleged he was part of a terrorist network. (via Saudi Ministry of Interior)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the Wadi Obeida (وادي عبيدة) area, east of Mar’ib (مأرب) city. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Wadi Obeida are: 15.515556, 45.395278.

US Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

Unknown
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected target

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Belligerents reported killed

2–3

Sources (57) [ collapse]

@Mo_Alsalhi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
marebpress.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@SUHFNET_YE
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@barakish_net
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@taizcity
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@news_yemen
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
almasdaronline.com
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@thwrataltagher
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
marebpress.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@althahab1985
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@yementodaytvnet
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@alawialbasha
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@al_azzani7
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@rezqali1
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@alash3r
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@sah__news
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
yemen-press.net
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Yemen Observer
- English
Archive
- English
AP/Huffington Post
- English
Archive
- English
dawn.com
- English
Archive
- English
uk.reuters.com
- English
Archive
- English
Voice of America
- English
Archive
- English
aljazeera.com
- English
Archive
- English
rferl.org
- English
Archive
- English
dw.de
- English
Archive
- English
en.trend.az
- English
Archive
- English
news.xinhuanet.com
- English
Archive
- English
inquisitr.com
- English
Archive
- English
marebpress.net
- English
Archive
- English
Yeme Post
- English
Archive
- English
longwarjournal.org
- English
Archive
- English
saudigazette.com.sa
- English
Archive
- English
Enduring America World View
- English
Archive
- English
criticalthreats.org
- English
Archive
- English
@Shuaibalmosawa
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@BaFana3
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@AP
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@CBSNews
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@ionacraig
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@KolHaolam
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@ASLANmedia
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@Vincent__Patel
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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@KamalFaridi
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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@vbarabs
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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@mushtaqtarakai
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@MARKETRISER
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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@tayabkh6
- Twitter
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Archive
- Twitter
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@KamalFaridi
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@MeoNews
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@adammbaron
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@AngelaSites
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@EmilieBuffiere
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@joshbegley
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@kgosztola
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@Caramelie1
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@NoonArabia
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
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@kimmierae61
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English

Incident Code

USYEMTr123-C

Previous code

YEM294C

Incident date

November 30, 2017

Location

صرار الجشم, Sirar Jusham, Al Bayda, Yemen

Geolocation

14.552681, 44.820786 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Web link

Airwars assessment

Up to eight civilians and three militants, variously alleged to be ISIS or AQAP, were reportedly killed by a series of US drone strikes in or near to Sirar Jusham, Qayfa area of Al Bayda governorate, on the afternoon of November 30th 2017.

A Yemeni government source told Anatolia Agency that three of four overall strikes – “likely American” – had targeted civilian areas “which are known to have nothing to do with terrorist organisations”, killing seven civilians. According to this source, a fourth strike targeted an ISIS vehicle, killing three alleged militants.

Two sources, @Yembreaking and Al-Masdar Online, instead suggested that eight civilians and three ISIS militants had died. A local source told Al-Masdar Online that the eight civilians were from the area, and had no ties to either AQAP or ISIS. According to Al-Arabi, there were dead and wounded among both militants and civilians, including women and children. Khabar Agency further indicated that “injuries” were reported among AQAP militants.

Other sources stated that a total of six strikes had targeted the area. Journalist Mareb Alward (@mareb_alward) tweeted that four strikes were conducted against AQAP sites and vehicles in Hama Sirar village, while two had targeted civilians, resulting in “casualties”.

Given these reports, Airwars has assessed that between seven and eight civilians were likely killed, including at least one woman and at least one child. At least two civilians were also injured, also including at least one woman a child. Three militant deaths were additionally reported by sources, as well as at least two militant injuries.

Some local sources, including @belqeesTV, suggested that the strikes were launched by as many as three US drones. Locals told Al-Arabi that the drones bombed a number of homes and farms in the area. Others also indicated that attacks took place against vehicles and militant in gathering places, though sources disagreed as to whether the strikes targeted AQAP or ISIS. Both terror groups had previously been targeted in the Qayfa area. A local source told Al-Masdar Online that one strike targeted a vehicle carrying explosives, leading to continuing explosions after the initial strike.

In addition, Nashwan News and Twitter user @amerAlhamiqaniu suggested that at least one strike may have destroyed an ambulance.

In its May 2018 annual civilian casualty report, the US Department of Defense stated that “there were credible reports of civilian casualties caused by U.S. military actions in Yemen against AQAP and ISIS during 2017”, but did not specify which specific actions these reports referred to. Overall, the Department of Defense assessed that there were credible reports of “approximately 499 civilians killed and approximately 169 civilians injured during 2017”, as a result of US military actions in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

Responding to Airwars’ publication of its Yemen dataset and accompanying report in October 2020, CENTCOM dismissed all but two civilian harm claims under President Trump, asserting that “USCENTCOM conducted a thorough review of the information AirWars provided regarding allegations of potential civilian harm caused by USCENTCOM strikes in Yemen from 2017-2020… The bulk of the information asserted by AirWars, however, did not correspond with dates and locations of U.S. military strikes or raids in Yemen. Other AirWars allegations either did not allege civilian harm or were not assessed as credible upon our review.”

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

7 – 8
(1 child1 woman)
Civilians reported injured

2
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected targets

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), ISIS - Yemen

Belligerents reported killed

3
Belligerents reported injured

2

Sources (26) [ collapse]

Al-Arabi
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@faisalbinnasse8
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@nogaoado_Mazzz
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@mareb_alward
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Khabar Agency
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@MrsdYem
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@amerAlhamiqaniu
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@Riy_Breaking
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@AlArabiya_Brk
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@AlMayadeenNews
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@m_malek92
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@CBABGYEBvDvzFXn
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Marebpress
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@YemenNewsApp
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Yemen Shabab
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@Yembreaking
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@BelqeesTV
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Nashwan News
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Aden Al-Hadath
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@al-arabiya_Eng
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@demolinari
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@ionacraig
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
Anatolia Agency
- English
Archive
- English
US Department of Defense
- English
Archive
- English
Airwars - Eroding Transparency
- English
- English

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

Sources suggested that between four and six strikes targeted farms and vehicles in the Sirar al-Jushm area, reportedly killing at least three alleged militants and as many as eight civilians (@mareb_alward, November 30th 2017).
Sources variously indicated that the strikes targeted AQAP or ISIS militants. Both groups had previously been the alleged target of strikes in the area (@mareb_alward, November 30th 2017).

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a strike on a garage in or on the outskirts of Sirar Jusham (صرار الجشم) village. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Sirar Jusham are: 14.552681, 44.820786.

US Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Non credible / Unsubstantiated

Insufficient information to assess that, more likely than not, a Coalition strike resulted in civilian casualties.
Civilian deaths conceded

None
Civilian injuries conceded

None

Civilian casualty statements

US Forces

Nov 5, 2020

Official source

Via email: U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) continues to focus on ways to minimize civilian casualties during its military operations. We assess or review all reports of civilian casualties because such assessments or reviews help us identify ways to improve our operations and counter misinformation and propaganda. We routinely share the results of every one of our assessments in Department of Defense (DoD) reports to Congress, including annual reports, many of which are publicly available. We also share the results of our assessments or reviews with the public via the USCENTCOM website and our statements to the media. Individuals wishing to understand U.S. military operations in Yemen more fully should consult these official sources of information. USCENTCOM conducted a thorough review of the information AirWars provided regarding allegations of potential civilian harm caused by USCENTCOM strikes in Yemen from 2017-2020. Of the information AirWars provided, one strike on September 14, 2017, was assessed to have caused injuries to two civilians. Also, as previously released by USCENTCOM to the public in February 2017, USCENTCOM acknowledged there may have been civilian casualties during a raid on January 29, 2017. The bulk of the information asserted by AirWars, however, did not correspond with dates and locations of U.S. military strikes or raids in Yemen. Other AirWars allegations either did not allege civilian harm or were not assessed as credible upon our review. Consistent with our mission, our authorities, and our obligations under the law of war, USCENTCOM will continue to conduct military actions in Yemen when required to protect the Nation and our allies and partners from al Qa’ida and ISIS terror cells that are committed to inflicting terror. In every strike and raid, we take careful measures to minimize civilian harm and take responsibility for our actions. When our military operations result in reports of civilian harm, we will continue to assess the credibility of such reports to help us identify ways to improve our operations and respond as appropriate.

Summary

Strike status

Likely strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

Yes
Civilians reported killed

7 – 8
(1 child1 woman)
Civilians reported injured

2
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Fair

Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
Suspected attacker

US Forces
Suspected targets

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), ISIS - Yemen

Belligerents reported killed

3
Belligerents reported injured

2

Sources (26) [ collapse]

Al-Arabi
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@faisalbinnasse8
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@nogaoado_Mazzz
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@mareb_alward
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Khabar Agency
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@MrsdYem
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@amerAlhamiqaniu
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@Riy_Breaking
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@AlArabiya_Brk
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@AlMayadeenNews
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@m_malek92
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@CBABGYEBvDvzFXn
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Marebpress
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@YemenNewsApp
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Yemen Shabab
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@Yembreaking
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Al-Masdar Online
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@BelqeesTV
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
Nashwan News
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
Aden Al-Hadath
- Arabic
Archive
- Arabic
@al-arabiya_Eng
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@demolinari
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
@ionacraig
- Twitter
- English
Archive
- Twitter
- English
Anatolia Agency
- English
Archive
- English
US Department of Defense
- English
Archive
- English
Airwars - Eroding Transparency
- English
- English

Incident Code

USYEMBi010

Incident date

February 28, 2023

Location

مرخة, Markha, Shabwa, Yemen

Web link

Airwars assessment

On February 28th 2023, a drone strike reportedly hit the Al-Alia district of Aqaba Amqwah targeting the Shabwa Defense Forces, on the border between Shabwa and Al-Bayda governorates. Sources report that the drone strike was either a US drone or a Houthi attack.

According to most sources, one member of the Fifth Brigade in the Shabwa Defense Forces was injured. @aalnaasi also tweeted that the drone “wounded a number of recruits” but did not state how many.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

Strike status

Contested strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

Unknown
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Contested

Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected attackers

US Forces, Houthi Forces

Belligerents reported injured

1

Sources (8) [ collapse]

@aalnaasi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@M_Al3wlqi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@basheralburaiki
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@South24_net
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@jO0OuJC
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@slmmrlwlqy1
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@Alqwatalkhsh
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@tihama24
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

@basheralburaiki tweeted that the Houthi forces' drone strike hit Aqaba Amqwah on February 28th 2023 (Image via Twitter)

US Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

US Forces
US Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Houthi Forces Assessment:

Suspected belligerent

Houthi Forces
Houthi Forces position on incident

Not yet assessed

Summary

Strike status

Contested strike
Strike type

Airstrike, Drone Strike

Civilian harm reported

No
Civilians reported killed

Unknown
Cause of injury / death

Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Airwars civilian harm grading

Contested

Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
Suspected attackers

US Forces, Houthi Forces

Belligerents reported injured

1

Sources (8) [ collapse]

@aalnaasi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@M_Al3wlqi
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@basheralburaiki
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@South24_net
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@jO0OuJC
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@slmmrlwlqy1
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@Alqwatalkhsh
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic
@tihama24
- Twitter
- Arabic
Archive
- Twitter
- Arabic

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