US Forces in Yemen

US Forces in Yemen

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

Belligerent
US Forces
Country
Yemen
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Incident Code

USYEMTr011

Incident date

March 2, 2017

Location

الصعيد, Al Said, Shabwa, Yemen

Geolocation

14.329436, 46.873768 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Multiple sources alleged that four al-Qaeda militants were killed in a US drone strike in al-Saeed, Shabwa province.

Al Arabi for example reported that a car was targeted in Shabwa at dawn on March 2nd 2017, as it was travelling “towards the road linking the towns of Ahur and Shakra”.  There were no known reports of civilian harm.

A tribal source told Al-Ain that the dead were named “Awad Ali Barasin, Saleh Ali Nasser Al-Ateeqi, Abu Bakr Barasin, and Awad Muhammad Barasin”.

This strike allegedly took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP in March 2017. On March 2nd, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davies announced “more than 20 strikes targeted AQAP militants, equipment and infrastructure in the Yemeni governorates of Abyan, Al Bayda and Shabwah” early that morning.

On March 3rd, the Associated Press reported that Yemeni officials and residents said the US had conducted “dozens of airstrikes on al-Qaida targets in Yemen overnight and in the past 48 hours in one of the lengthiest, sustained operations inside this conflict-torn Arab country”.  A US military intelligence source told NBC News that the strikes were “part of ‘new directives’ to aggressively pursue the Dhahab and Qayfa clans”.

Estimates of the overall total death toll on March 2nd varied. On March 3rd, Reuters reported that Thursday’s strikes had left “at least nine” dead, while officials speaking with the Associated Press said that seven alleged militants had been killed.

The incident occured around dawn.

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
    4

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • One source, Al-Ain, included this image, though it was unclear if it showed a person related to the reported strike (Al-Ain, March 2nd 2017)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the countryside surrounding the town of Al Said (الصعيد), on a road leading to the highway between Ahwar (أحور) and Shorqa (شقرة). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Al Said are: 14.329436, 46.873768

US Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

U.S. forces conducted a series of precision strikes in Yemen against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, in the early morning of March 2 (Yemen time). More than 20 strikes targeted AQAP militants, equipment and infrastructure in the Yemeni governorates of Abyan, Al Bayda and Shabwah.

The strikes were conducted in partnership with the Government of Yemen, and were coordinated with President Hadi. The Government of Yemen is a valuable counter-terrorism partner, and we support its efforts to bring stability to the region by fighting known terrorist organizations like AQAP.

The strikes will degrade the AQAP's ability to coordinate external terror attacks and limit their ability to use territory seized from the legitimate government of Yemen as a safe space for terror plotting. Targets of the strikes included militants, equipment, infrastructure, heavy weapons systems and fighting positions.

AQAP has taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Yemen to plot, direct, and inspire terror attacks against the United States and our allies. U.S. forces will continue to work with the Government of Yemen to defeat AQAP and deny it the ability to operate in Yemen.

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
    4

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEMTr034-C

Incident date

March 4, 2017

Location

الرحبة, Al Rahba near Moujan village, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.432500, 46.478333 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Multiple sources reported that a US drone strike killed two alleged AQAP militants travelling on a motorbike in the outskirts of Ahwar, Abyan governorate, on the evening of March 4th 2017. While there were no known initial reports of civilian harm, the Yemeni human rights group Mwatana later said that two civilian honey traders were killed in the attack.

According to Al Khabar Now, local sources reported that the strike took place in the evening, in the al-Rahba area. Reuters cited tribal sources and residents as having reported the strike, while Al-Jazeera and AFP also cited security officials.

According to Rai Al-Youm, the strike targeted the motorcycle on the road linking Khabr Maraqisha and Ahwar.  A local source told the outlet that the targeted militants were moving location in the wake of US strikes in the area over the prior days.

One Twitter source, @DonKlericuzio, tweeted on March 6th that a CIA strike in Zinjibar had killed two alleged AQAP militants. Given that no other known sources reported a unique strike at that time, and given similarities in reported location and casualties, this likely constitutes a late report of this alleged event.

This reported action took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP in March 2017.  A US military intelligence source told NBC News that the strikes beginning March 2nd were “part of ‘new directives’ to aggressively pursue the Dhahab and Qayfa clans”.

In March 2021, Mwatana published a comprehensive review of the case, concluding that the two victims were in fact civilian bee keepers who it named as Salem Ahmed Saleh Bileidi, 34 years old, and his nephew, Hadi Ali Ahmed Bileidi, 28 years old. It reached this conclusion after “Mwatana visited the site on May 8, 2017 and conducted in-depth interviews with five people, including four relatives of the men killed and one resident of their village. In some cases, Mwatana conducted follow-up interviews with these people to gather further information. Mwatana also collected documents related to the two men, including their death certificates, identification cards and a medical report indicating their bodies had been received at a hospital after the strike.”

The attack which killed the men reportedly took place at around 5.30pm local time, at a location on a main road about 22 kilometres from Moujan village. The bodies of the two men were taken to Al Khubar hospital, where a certificate records their deaths and that “their bodies were torn apart due to the faulty aerial bombing.”

Salem’s wife, at the time pregnant, told Mwatana: ““I was crying hysterically, and I broke down. Hadi was so thrilled with my pregnancy.” Hadi’s father (and Salem’s brother) said, “We tried more than once to make our voice heard, saying that there are no terrorists in our village and asking them [the US] to come and check… but nobody wanted to hear us. I hope that our voices will be heard. We have lost a lot and do not want to lose more.”

The incident occured at approximately 5:30 pm local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Salem Ahmed Saleh Bileidi
34 years old male Uncle of Hadi killed
Hadi Ali Ahmed Bileidi
28 years old male Nephew of Salem killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–2

Sources (37) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Impact of the strike on the asphalt road. Photo taken by a Mwatana researcher.
  • Medical report issued on March 15, 2017 noting that the bodies of the two men were received at Al Khubar Hospital and that the men were dead on arrival and their bodies torn apart as a result of ‘faulty aerial bombing’ (via Mwatana)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the Al Rahba (الرحبة) area, on the outskirts of the village of Ahwar (أحور). Some sources suggest the generic coordinates for this area are: 13.432500, 46.478333. However, 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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

Defense Department officials detected and tracked multiple missile launches out of North Korea today, four of which landed in the Sea of Japan, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters this morning.

Explosive ordnance disposal technicians assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, Platoon 501, prepare for an EOD mine-countermeasure exercise with members of a South Korean navy underwater dive team off the coast of Jinhae, South Korea, as part of exercise Foal Eagle 2017, March 3, 2017. Foal Eagle is an annual, bilateral training exercise designed to enhance the readiness of U.S. and South Korean forces and their ability to work together during a crisis. Navy Combat Camera photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield
Explosive ordnance disposal technicians assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, Platoon 501, prepare for an EOD mine-countermeasure exercise with members of a South Korean navy underwater dive team off the coast of Jinhae, South Korea, as part of exercise Foal Eagle 2017, March 3, 2017. Foal Eagle is an annual, bilateral training exercise designed to enhance the readiness of U.S. and South Korean forces and their ability to work together during a crisis. Navy Combat Camera photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alfred A. Coffield
Davis said the four medium-range ballistic missiles were launched from the northwest corner of North Korea, traveled over the Korean Peninsula and out into the sea, totaling about 1,000 kilometers in distance, or more than 620 miles.

Missiles Land Off Japan’s Coast

The missiles landed in the vicinity of Akita Prefecture off the coast of Japan near that nation’s exclusive economic zone, he said. The EEZ is defined as a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.

“The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected that the missiles from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America,” Davis said. “This [North Korean missile launch] is very similar in terms of the path and the distance of the three missiles that flew into Japan’s EEZ in September 2016.”

He added, “These launches, which coincide with the start of our annual defensive exercise, Foal Eagle, with the Republic of Korea’s military, are consistent with North Korea’s long history of provocative behavior, often timed to military exercises that we do with our ally,”

The United States stands with its allies “in the face of this very serious threat and are taking steps to enhance our ability to defend against North Korea’s ballistic missiles, such as the deployment of a [Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense] battery to South Korea, which will happen as soon as feasible,” Davis said.

U.S. Strikes AQAP in Yemen

Also overnight, the United States made an airstrike on Yemen’s Abyan Governorate against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, bringing to 40 the strikes there in the past five nights, Davis said.

Since the first airstrike against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen on Feb. 28, “We will continue to target [al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] militants and facilities to disrupt the organization’s plot and protect American lives,” the captain said.

The strikes have been coordinated with and done in full partnership with the government of Yemen with the goal of denying al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists’ freedom of movement within traditional safe havens, Davis emphasized.

The captain also confirmed the deaths of three al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in March 2 and 3 airstrikes in Yemen.

Usayd al Adani, whom Davis described as a longtime al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula explosives expert and facilitator who served as the organization’s emir, was killed in a U.S. airstrike March 2 within the Abyan Governorate. Killed with him was former Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee Yasir al Silmi.

Killed March 3 was al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula fighter and communications intermediary for Adani, Harithah al Waqri, Davis said.

“[Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] has taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Yemen to plot, direct and inspire terror attacks against the United States and our allies,” he said. “And we will continue to work with the government of Yemen to defeat [al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula].

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • (2 men)
  • 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 attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–2

Sources (37) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEMTr071

Incident date

April 7, 2017

Location

مديرية الصومعة, Al Sawma'ah District, Bayda, Yemen

Geolocation

14.207644, 45.815614 Note: The accuracy of this location is to District level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

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 area. Local security sources told AFP that the strike took place in the evening on April 7th; most sources, though posted on April 8th, did not specify a date.

However, one source, @demolinari, indicated that a strike in the area, which reportedly killed two militants, took place on the afternoon of April 8th. A separate single-source event has been created to account for the possibility that this constituted a unique event.

The incident occured in the evening.

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

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck within the Al Sawma’ah district (مديرية الصومعة), for which due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Al Sawma’ah district are: 14.207644, 45.815614.

  • Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck within the Al Sawma’ah district (مديرية الصومعة).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

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

Sources (7) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEMTr170

Incident date

June 28, 2018

Location

بئر شودقة, Bi'ir Shoudqa, Ma'rib, Yemen

Geolocation

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

Airwars assessment

A US drone strike targeted alleged AQAP militants in Bi’ir Shoudqa, Wadi Obeida area of Marib governorate, on June 28th 2018, a single source (@huodhoud) claimed.

At around the same time, Yemeni sources began reporting that an alleged AQAP jurist, Abu Bihr Mohammed Darama, was killed by a US drone strike. It is unlikely Darama’s death in Marib had resulted from an earlier confirmed US drone strike on June 23rd, since they took place in either Shabwah, Hadramawt or Al-Bayda governorate.

Dr Elisabeth Kendall (@Dr_E_Kendall) tweeted that Daram frequently wrote for Al Qaeda’s newspaper al-Masra, but rarely in formal AQAP channels. Further sources, such as @IbnSiqilli, described Darama as a judge in Abyan. None described him as a combatant.

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
  • (1 other protected person)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Abu Bishr Muhammad Darama, an alleged AQAP jurist, was reportedly killed by a US drone strike, though it the exact circumstances and timing of the strike were unclear (@Dr_E_Kendall, June 28th 2018)
  • No sources explicitly indicated that Darama was a combatant (SITE Intel Group, June 28th 2018)

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Bi’ir Shoudqa (بئر شودقة), possibly a well located in or in the vicinity of the Wadi Obeida (وادي عبيدة) area, east of the city of Ma’rib (مأرب). 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.

  • Reports of the incident mention the Bi’ir Shoudqa (بئر شودقة), possibly a well located in or in the vicinity of the Wadi Obeida (وادي عبيدة) area, east of the city of Ma’rib (مأرب).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

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
  • (1 other protected person)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEMTr221

Incident date

January 29, 2020

Location

الحصن المشرف, Al Hosson Al Mashrif, Al Bayda, Yemen

Geolocation

14.79646, 45.04077 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A US drone strike reportedly killed AQAP leaders Qasim Al-Raymi and Abu Al-Baraa Al-Ibbi as they travelled in a car through Yakla, Bayda governorate, on January 29th 2020. This was one of three alleged January strikes in which Qasim al-Raymi was reportedly killed – with his death in one of those actions later confirmed by both the US government and AQAP. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

A source “familiar with AQAP’s operations inside Yemen” and a local security source told Al-Masdar Online that Al-Raymi had been killed in this strike. Local residents told Al-Masdar that the attack took place in the village of Al-Hosson Al-Mashrif, and that AQAP militants had then prevented local media and activists from accessing the site.

Similarly, according to reports in The Yemen and 4May, sources told Okaz News that Al-Raymi and Al-Ibbi were killed by the strike at noon, as they arrived at a site controlled by AQAP. The original Okaz article could not be found by Airwars.

Responding to local reports, academic Dr Elisabeth Kendall noted that Al-Ibbi was an “articulate and active” AQAP jurist.

Throughout late January and early February 2020, numerous local-language and English-language sources reported that al-Raymi had been killed by a US strike at the end of January. These variously indicated that he was killed by one of two alleged strikes in the Wadi Obeida, Marib, on January 25th (USYEMTr218) or January 27th (USYEMTr219-C); or by this alleged strike in Bayda on January 29th.

Given that the first known reports of al-Raymi’s death also emerged on January 29th, post-dating the alleged strikes in which he was reported to have died, it was impossible to reasonably exclude the possibility that he died in any of these three reported incidents.

On February 6th, a White House statement confirmed that al-Raymi had been killed by a January strike, but did not specify where or when he had died. “This was not a [Department of Defense] operation”, a US Pentagon official told Politico.  A former US official told Foreign Policy that the strike was conducted by a CIA aircraft.

US Central Command told Airwars that no US military strikes were conducted in Yemen during January 2020, effectively confirming that the strike that killed Al-Raymi was a CIA operation.

Al-Raymi had been the leader of AQAP since 2015, having been a founding member of the group in 2006.  On February 23rd 2020, AQAP confirmed that al-Raymi had died, and announced Khalid Batarfi as its new leader, according to Dr Elisabeth Kendall (@Dr_E_Kendall).

The incident occured around midday.

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

Sources (52) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (21) [ collapse]

  • Qasim al-Raymi, the leader of AQAP, was alleged to have been killed in the strike (@Rita_Katz, January 30th 2020)
  • The strike was one of three alleged US actions in January which reportedly killed Al-Raymi (@NATSEC09, January 31st 2020)
  • The US State Department had previously offered $10 million for information leading to Al-Raymi's capture (New York Times, January 31st 2020)
  • On February 1st, an apparently pre-recorded message from Al-Raymi claimed responsibility for the December 2019 Pensacola naval base shooting (@Dr_E_Kendall, February 1st 2020)
  • In a tweet, academic Dr Elisabeth Kendall pointed out that a February 1st video of Al-Raymi omitted "the usual "May Allah protect him"... which would have shown he's alive" (@Dr_E_Kendall, February 2nd 2020)
  • Al-Raymi had been leader of AQAP since 2015, after his predecessor was killed by a US drone strike (@englishsssn, January 31st 2020)
  • Al-Raymi was confirmed to have been killed by the White House on February 6th 2020 (BBC Monitoring, January 31st 2020)
  • On February 23rd, AQAP confirmed the death of Al-Raymi, announcing Khalid Batarfi as his successor (@Dr_E_Kendall, February 23rd 2020)
  • Khalid Batarfi, Al-Raymi's successor as AQAP leader (@Dr_E_Kendall, February 23rd 2020)
  • Al-Raymi, born in 1978, was a founding member of AQAP (BBC Arabic, February 7th 2020)
  • In 2017, Al-Raymi said that lone shooter attacks brought him joy (Long War Journal, February 6th 2020)
  • Al-Raymi (right), alongside Pensacola shooter Muhammed bin Saeed Al-Shamrani (Long War Journal, February 6th 2020)
  • (@Saad_Binmuad, January 29th 2020)

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Hosson Al Mashrif (الحصن المشرف), allegedly within the vicinity of Yakla (يكلاء). One source, @JoshuaKoontz__, suggests the area of Wadi Al Mashrif (وادي المشيريف) as a potential location for this village, approximately 33KM north of Yakla. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Wadi Al Mashrif are: 14.79646, 45.04077

  • Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Hosson Al Mashrif (الحصن المشرف), allegedly within vicinity of Yakla (يكلاء).

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • One source, @JoshuaKoontz__, suggests the area of Wadi Al Mashrif (وادي المشيريف) as a potential location for this village, approximately 33KM north of Yakla.

    Imagery:
    @JoshuaKoontz__

US Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Rimi joined al-Qa’ida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces. His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa’ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.

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

Sources (52) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEMBi001-C

Incident date

March 16, 2021

Location

حي جو النسيم, Jao Al Naseem, Marib, Yemen

Geolocation

15.480000, 45.349444 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Local sources in Marib reported casualties among civilians as a result of a reported attack either by a US-drone on a car entering a popular market in Marib – or by a Houthi balluistic missile strike on the market – on March 16th, 2021.

While @aalnaasi said the attack happened on Dahbeel station in Al-Naseem, @assssa1234a said that the attack led to the killing of two people who were in the car, and the injuring of citizens who were in the vicinity.

The Yemeni news agency Saba claimed that a US drone had targeted an unknown car as it entered a crowd of citizens’ vehicles in the Jao Al-Naseem neighbourhood, east of the city of Ma’rib. A local source told Saba that ” an American drone targeted an unidentified car with a laser-guided missile while entering the middle of a car gathering in the Jao Al-Naseem neighborhood, resulting in deaths on board the car and wounding a number of citizens near it.”

Saba also claimed that “It is noteworthy that American drones have intensified their raids on the governorates of Marib and Shabwa over the past few days.” However no further proofs were offered to support that claim.

While most sources blamed a US drone for the attack, al Jazeera reported ” 2 dead and 7 wounded due to the fall of a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis on a popular market in Marib city”.

The identity of those killed is not clear yet and no further information is presently available. A possible moratorium on US strikes in Yemen by the Biden Administration may also have been in operation since January 20th 2021.

In an email to Airwars on November 18th, the US military denied carrying out any recent attacks, noting that “CENTCOM conducted its last counterterror strike in Yemen on June 24, 2019. CENTCOM has not conducted any new counterterror strikes in Yemen since.”

This does not however preclude actions by the CIA – which is known to have conducted at least three strikes in Yemen since June 2019.

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    7
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Unknown
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2

Sources (10) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in Joe Al Naseem (جو النسيم) village, for which the generic coordinates are: 15.480000, 45.349444. 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

Houthi Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Houthi Forces
  • Houthi Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2
  • Civilians reported injured
    7
  • 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
  • Suspected target
    Unknown
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2

Sources (10) [ collapse]