Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEM080-B

Incident date

May 14, 2012

Location

لودر, Lawdar, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.88149, 45.868922 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A moving vehicle was struck by missiles that were fired near Lawdar town in the province of Abyan on the 14th of May 2012. Six “militants” perished in the strike which was allegedly carried out by a Yemeni or US aircraft. There are no reports of civilian harm at this moment.

Officials reported anonymously to the Associated Press that the death toll of the militants was six and this information was corroborated by members of the Popular Resistance Committees to AFP.

While some sources blamed Yemen, the Yemen Air Force reportedly lacks any ability to launch precision strikes on moving vehicles. This casts doubt on whether strikes were carried out by the US or Yemeni forces.

A militant leader named al-Muhajir was declared dead in an incident later on but it is unclear whether this occurred in USYEM079-B or in this incident.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that a moving vehicle was targeted in the outskirts of the town Lawdar (لودر) in the governorate Abyan (أبين‎). Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for the town of Lawdar (لودر) are: 13.88149, 45.868922.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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
    6

Sources (5) [ 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
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • 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
    6

Sources (5) [ collapse]