Mabkhout Ali al Ameri with his 18-month old son Mohammed, shortly after a botched US raid on al Ghayil in January 2017 had killed at least 20 villagers, including Mohammed's mother Fatim Saleh Mohsen. © Iona Craig
Several sources reported that a US drone strike targeted an alleged AQAP camp in Wadi al-Naseel, Wadea district of Abyan governorate, late on March 5th 2017, or possibly very early on march 6th. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. According to AFP, an “early dawn” US strike allegedly took place in the
A US drone strike reportedly killed two alleged AQAP militants in Al Sawma’ah district, Bayda governorate, on the evening of April 7th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. Several sources – for example Yemen Live News – reported that the alleged militants were killed while travelling on a motorbike in the
At least one US drone strike reportedly killed at least two alleged AQAP militants in the Al-Sallabah and Ja’er area of Sama’a district, in Bayda governorate, on the afternoon of September 11th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. According to some Twitter sources including @demolinari, the strike targeted a vehicle in
A single source, Al-Masdar Online, suggested that a US drone strike had targeted alleged AQAP militants in Merkhat, in Shabwa governorate, on the evening of July 4th 2018. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. “The source told Al-Masdar Online that the air strike targeted the militants in the Merkhat area last Wednesday
A US drone strike reportedly targeted a car transporting six alleged AQAP militants near Bin Ma’ali Station, in Marib governorate, on the morning of January 27th 2020. The strike came alongside a second reported US action (USYEMTr219-C) on January 27th in Al Hazmia, also in Marib. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.
The US military reported on the same day that it had conducted an airstrike against al Shabaab fighters in the town of Jilib. However it was locally claimed that the attack had killed three young children, whose bodies were shown on social media. In a press release published on the evening of the attack, AFRICOM
Several Al Shabaab militants were reported killed at Sakow in a military strike which several local sources claimed was a US drone action. However AFRICOM explicitly denied this in an email to Airwars, insisting that “U.S. Africa Command’s last airstrike in Somalia was conducted Jan. 19, 2021.” Geesguud initially reported: “Residents in Middle Jubba reported
On August 14th 2022 there were reports that a US airstrike killed 13 to 14 members of Al Shabaab in the town of Beledweyne, in Hiran region of central Somalia, as reported by a state-owned national television. US AFRICOM confirmed this strike on August 17th in a statement which said that “US forces engage insurgents
42 al-Shabaab militants were reportedly killed by Somali forces and “international partner” operations in Cadaley near Mahaday district in Middle Shabelle on February 21, 2022. Somali National News Agency @SONNALIVE announced that the Somali National Army supported by regional forces and International partners killed 42 al-Shabaab militants in Cadaley near Mahaday district. According to Islam Times
Mepa News reported that US airstrikes on the Bisig Adde settlement of Buurhakabe district on July 24, 2023 bombarded civilian areas, resulting in the death of 5 civilians, including children, and the injury of 10 civilians. Images posted by the source show multiple injured civilians being treated. No other sources reported on this incident.
Around midnight on May 30th-May 31st, 2024, 14 civilians, including a sailor named Ayoub Abdullah Hassan Zaidan, were killed and 25 other civilians were injured, including one heavily injured sailor, as a result of the declared US-UK airstrike on the Coast Guard building located in the Salif (Al Sulayf) seaport in the Al Hudayhah Governorate,
Local sources reported that “at least one top insurgent was killed in the US military-led strikes by unmanned aircraft”, which began in Zinjibar, on June 10, 2021. There were no reports of civilian harm. While Reuters reported that airstrikes on Zinjibar stemmed from “state forces”, according to the editor of the Yemen Post, a strike
On the 20th of June 2012, up to 30 militants were reported killed and six others injured in a series of Yemeni or US-waged airstrikes in Mahfed, Abyan, which was later reported by international and local media. AP reported that Yemeni military officials said that “at least six air raids targeted moving vehicles and Al
A suspected US drone strike against a car killed two AQAP members in Baihan, Shabwa province on the morning of January 30th 2017, multiple sources reported. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. According to news agencies, Yemeni officials suggested that a US drone had targeted the car in the Baihan region, on
An alleged AQAP militant was reportedly killed by a US drone strike in the Rafd area, in the Al Said district of Shabwa governorate, on the evening of April 26th 2018. A US strike took place in Shabwa on that day, a CENTCOM spokesperson later told the Long War Journal. Since there were no other
Several people, possibly civilians, were left wounded as US airstrikes hit four towns near Ras Kamboni, including a terrorist training camp on Badmadow island, local and international media reported. Sources added that up to ten al Qaeda members were also killed. The strikes came just two days after the US-launched AC-130 attack in Ras Kamboni,
A US drone strike allegedly killed “a senior commander and other members” of al Shabaab. Two or three people were reportedly killed by the drones – with an artillery barrage from Kenyan troops followed up the air attack according to the Los Angeles Times, and reportedly killing 50 ‘militants’. This was the first of six
On November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
The US confirmed it had accompanied Somali troops in a mission that rescued 30 to 32 boys from an al Shabaab indoctrination centre in the Lower Shabelle region. However, during the rescue attempt, fire reportedly from Somali forces reportedly killed four or five children, and a teacher. A later US government FOIA response indicated that
Four al Shabaab fighters were killed as the US carried out a strike in Somalia in the vicinity of Araara, Lower Juba region, after partner forces came under attack from small arms fire, a US Africa Command press release stated. The press release called it a “collective self-defense airstrike.” No US service members were apparently
A confirmed US action, striking approximately 23 miles east of Beledweyne in the Hiran Region, killed 35 militants while no civilians were harmed, an AFRICOM statement asserted the next day. The airstrike targeted armed al Shabaab militants “as they were transitioning between locations in a rural area”, the US command said. Marine Corps Maj. Gen.
A named man, Abow Ali Wardi (or Wardiyow), was widely reported killed in a US targeted strike near Kunyo Barrow. While there were some local claims that the victim was a non combatant, AFRICOM later insisted the target was “an al-Shabaab facilitator” and that “It is assessed with a high degree of confidence that civilian
The US military carried out an airstrike on al Shabaab fighters – possibly high value – after they attacked a Somali patrol in the northwest of Kismayo, Lower Juba Province, according to a press release from US Africa Command. No civilian harm was reported in this incident. According to the official statement: “In coordination with
A reported airstrike or bomb blast by an unknown party on an al Shabaab radio station in Buale or Jilib town killed up to 25 al Shabaab supporters – five of them journalists. US Africa Command later denied responsibility. According to Sonna Somalia, “At least 10 people have been killed and more than 30 others
Three possible AQAP militants were reportedly killed by a US drone strike in the Rumaila area, in the Marib district of Marib governorate, at around 7:30pm on May 15th 2018. Sadam Al-Adwar, a human rights activist, tweeted that the strike had targeted a motorcycle in the area: “At 7:30pm, today is a drone strike targeting
Some local language sources reported that the area of Dhi Kalb, in the al-Qaifa region of Bayda province, was targeted by multiple US air strikes overnight from March 2nd to March 3rd 2017. here were no reports of civilian harm. Social media sources suggested that US drones and combat aircraft conducted several strikes against “homes”
Alleged AQAP sites in Al Quoz village, in the Mudiyah district of Abyan governorate, were targeted by reported US naval and air strikes overnight from March 29th to March 30th 2017. There were no known reports of civilian harm. Several sources indicated that US warships fired missiles at parts of the village during the night,
In an email to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US Central Command confirmed that a strike had targeted three “AQAP terrorists” in Shabwa on April 29th. This confirmed earlier reports that a US drone strike had killed at least two alleged AQAP militants travelling in a Vitara car in the Tamoura area, in the Al
Three civilians were killed and one child injured by a US airstrike near Jilib, according to a number of local sources. Mareeg said that at least two civilians had been killed. Halgan Media claimed the following: “Suspected US drones launched a series of strikes overnight bombing the Al Shabaab controlled town of Jilib in the
A confirmed US airstrike took place in Bayda governorate on March 25th 2019, one of two on that day, a US Central Command spokesperson later told New America. According to a later CENTCOM press release, all US strikes in March 2019 targeted AQAP in Bayda governorate. Multiple sources reported at the time that a drone,