(Previous Incident Codes: YEM022USYEM025)

On Aug. 24, 2011, numerous outlets such as the Associated Press, AFP, and CNN reported that between four and six suspected Al Qaeda militants were killed and others were wounded in alleged Yemeni or US strikes in the area of Arkoub in Yemen’s Abyan province, which was overrun by Al Qaeda in May 2011. There are no known reports of civilian casualties in the strike on Arkoub, but outlets differ on other details, such as the number of suspected militants killed and the nature of the strike.

The reporting of one outlet, CNN, stated that four suspected AQ militants were killed in Arkoub “during a clash with the army in Abyan province.” This wording would seem to imply that the strike took the form of ground raids, which are reported to have occurred throughout Abyan at the time, with AP reporting that eight Yemeni soldiers were killed in the area around Zinjibar, alongside a strike that killed 30-40 suspected AQ militants (USYEM027-B).

However, other outlets such as AFP and AP state that the strike in Arkoub killed six militants and was carried out by airstrike. AP reported that the strike was carried out by the Yemeni government, and AFP raising the possibility that the strike could have been carried out by the United States, citing the fact that the US had previously carried out strikes in Yemen and that locals in Arkoub claim that drones frequently patrol the area. CNN also declared “others injured” in the strike, but provided no additional details. On Aug. 24, CNN reported that 29 had been killed and 62 injured between “both sides” during operations in Abyan over the last several days.