Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEM035-B

Incident date

September 7, 2011

Location

المحفد, Al Mahfed, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

14.059345, 46.915427

Airwars assessment

An alleged US Predator drone strike struck a makeshift Al Qaeda checkpoint in Mihfed, Abyan Province killing up to 10 members of Al Qaeda and wounding as many as dozens more. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.

AFP reported that a local security official said that the US drone strike had killed three militants and wounded two more, while @Sada_Aden tweeted that two were killed in the “American raid”.

Meanwhile, Xinhua reported that “10 Al Qaeda militants were killed and dozens of others were injured” on the evening of September 7th when a US drone struck “several targets” in Abyan.

Xinhua said that Predator drones “bombed an abandoned hotel and a primary school on the eastern outskirts of Jaar city” in Abyan, and that local residents in Jaar said that dozens of families have fled to nearby provinces of Aden and Lahj, “fearing renewed botched air strikes by the Yemeni air forces and the US drones”.

The incident occured in the evening.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Al Mahfed (المحفد), for which the generic coordinates are: 14.059345, 46.915427. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–10
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2–24

Sources (10) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–10
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2–24

Sources (10) [ collapse]