Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEM058-B

Incident date

April 7–8, 2012

Location

الكود, Al Kawd, Khanfir district, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.086015, 45.364084 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between 16 and 24 militants were killed in a series of alleged US or Yemeni airstrikes on Al Kawd village in the governorate of Abyan on April 8th, 2012, according to local sources. There were no reports of harm to civilians.

According to a tweet from @hbashrbash, 24 Al Qaeda militants were killed in naval missile strikes on the outskirts of Zinjibar. However, it seems likely that this total is combining the 16 militants killed in Al Kawd village and the eight militants killed in a vehicle in southern Yemen (USYEM057-B).

The Yemen Defence Ministry released a statement that “about 16 suspected Al Qaida militants were killed in the al-Kawd area near Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province.” However, Xinhua referred to the airstrikes as Yemeni-US joint air raids.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Al Koud (or Al Kawd) (الكود), near the town of Zinjibar (زنجبار‎) in the governorate of Abyan (أبين‎). The generic coordinates for the town of Al Koud (الكود) are: 13.086015, 45.364084. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery, Naval bombardment
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16–24

Sources (9) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

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

Yemeni Air Force Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Yemeni Air Force
  • Yemeni Air Force position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike and/or Artillery, Naval bombardment
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    16–24

Sources (9) [ collapse]