(Previous Incident Codes: YEM084USYEM097)

Between 12 and 16 Al Qaeda fighters were killed in a suspected US or Yemeni airstrike or ground operation on Jaar, Abyan on June 11, 2012, local media reported. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.

Reuters cited a Yemeni military official who said that “the army launched its most serious assault on Jaar to date,” and that a combination of ground and aerial raids had killed “at least” 44 Al Qaeda members. AP reported that the airstrike alone had killed 16 alleged militants.

Tweets from various local sources reported that airstrikes destroyed an Al Qaeda weapon store as well as the site for manufacturing and supplying explosives and car bombs. Addustour added that following airstrikes in Jaar, the army took control of the (October 7) ammunition factory at the northwestern edge of Jaar and found the bodies of 12 Al Qaeda members.

While this incident was attributed by sources to the Yemen Air Force (or only mentioned as airstrikes), it has been confirmed that the US had been carrying out raids on Yemen during this time and the Yemen Air Force had been declared incapable of defending its own airspace and ‘barely functional‘ casting doubt on the source of the strike, which is why US involvement cannot be ruled out.