Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Alleged US airstrikes or Yemeni airstrikes in Jaar and Zinjibar on May 10, 2012 reportedly killed up to 24 alleged militants and nine others were injured, with some sources reporting possible civilian casualties. Although initially reported as the work of the Yemen Air Force, a senior Yemen government official told CNN that the attacks were carried out by the US, part of a three-day offensive.
On March 10th 2012, Aden Al-Ghad reported that a correspondent said that the strike hit the neighborhoods surrounding the Almaz Cotton Company. The source reported that the company’s property was being used by “armed groups” to hold “dozens of army soldiers” as prisoners.
The Long War Journal reported that the strike killed 20 in AQAP “hideouts.” According to Reuters, local residents in Jaar reported that the Yemeni air force carried out the strike, and that 20 Al Qaeda fighters were killed. The source reported that the strike impacted a military base previously seized by Al Qaeda from government forces. Al-Bayan reported that 20 were killed in the strikes, with “others wounded.” Local sources alleged that the strike was aimed at military vehicles captured by Al Qaeda. Yahoo News reported that a Yemeni military official said that nine militants were wounded in the strike.
On March 11th 2012 at 10:31am local time, journalist @ionacraig tweeted that a 13 year-old boy was killed in a “recent US drone strike” although it is unclear which strike this is referencing. According to Presstv and National Turk, “local residents rejected the government’s allegations and said that the victims were civilians.” However, this report was referencing three strikes from March 9-11, and did not specify which strike the residents’ claims referred to.
A tweet from @Shuaibalmosawa reported that according to AQAP sources in Abyan the airstrikes in Ja’ar did not hit anybody and instead struck nearby agricultural land.
On March 12th 2012, CNN reported that initially, Yemeni officials declared that the Yemeni air force was behind the strike. However, CNN also reported that a Yemeni official alleged that, since it occurred late in the day, the strike must have been the work of American drones. He claimed that Yemeni forces do not have the capability or training to enact strikes at that time of day.
The incident occured in the evening.
Summary
Sources (22) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Ja’ar (جعار) in the Abyan (أبين) governorate, for which the generic coordinates are: 13.223161, 45.305486. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.