Incident Code
USYEM153-C
Incident Date
17–18 May, 2013
Location
Al-Mahfad District, Abyan Governorate, Yemen
المحفد، أبين
Geolocation
13.989198,
46.680717
Accuracy: District
Geolocation
13.989198,
46.680717
Accuracy: District
Airwars Assessment
Last Updated: May 22, 2025
(Previous Incident Codes: YEM127Ci USYEM143 )
On May 18th, 2013 a drone reportedly launched three airstrikes in Abyan province overnight. The second of the three strikes hit the Al-Hada area in Al-Mahfad district and six people were reported injured without specifying if those injured were militants or civilians.
A CNN report, also published by Mareb Press, was the only source found to document the series of strikes and reported that a second raid on the “Al-Hada” area resulted in six wounded, without adding any details. While the source did not attribute the drone strikes to a belligerent, the US was the only country operating drones in Yemen during the time and the third drone strike of the evening was attributed to the US. Therefore, this incident has been classified as a “single source claim” and “weak”.
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the Al-Mahfad District (المحفد) in the Abyan Governorate (أبين), for which the generic coordinates are: 13.989198, 46.680717. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
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