Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least ten civilians, including a woman and nine children, were reported killed and at least 10 others, including women and five children, were injured by alleged US airstrikes on the home of the al-Ruqa’a [Roga’ah] family in the Qahza area of Saada, Yemen on March 15, 2025.
The US military released a statement that “On March 15, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) initiated an operation consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen in order to restore freedom of navigation.” However, as no details are currently available on the locations of these strikes, the incident has been graded as a “likely strike” until further information is provided.
Houthi-affiliated news @TvAlmasirah reported that four children and a woman were killed and 10 others, including women and at least five children, by US airstrikes on two houses in the Qahza area, north of Saada city. Graphic images accompanying the details appear to show multiple victims with severe burns, including one young boy receiving oxygen and being treated for burns, as well as a young girl also receiving oxygen, with a cast on one arm, and bandages on both legs, possibly from burns. One image appears to show the bodies of three deceased victims, at least one of whom is a small child.
A graphic video posted by @TvAlmasirah reportedly includes the body of a fetus killed in the attack, which indicates that a pregnant woman was among those killed. Another graphic video provided by @TvAlmasirah shows one young boy and one man with very severe injuries being brought into a medical facility, a small girl covered in dust being treated for her injuries, and another young boy with severe burns.
A Facebook post from Majed Al Madani Sanaa on March 15th provided the “latest statistics” on the strike in Qahza – 10 killed, most of them women and children, and 13 wounded. Majed Al Madani Saada later stated on March 16th that the strikes had “claimed the lives of a family of 28 people, most of whom were women and children”. Accompanying images show a construction excavator digging through the rubble of a building with dozens of onlookers.
One survivor interviewed by The New Yorker was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of the blast. The strikes, he remembered, were noticeably different from the Saudi strikes that frequently pelt perceived Houthi strongholds: “they were too loud, too big”. After separating his family and ferrying them to safer areas, the man – who was unnamed – returned to the strike area. His neighbour’s home had been destroyed. Mosfer Roga’ah [al-Ruqa’a], a Bedouin from the northern regions of Yemen, had moved to the area six years prior. He had a large family; the house had been full at the time of the blast. With his brothers, the interviewed man searched for remains of the Roga’ah family. Upon finding them, “they were scattered and torn into pieces”. Two of those uncovered were a five-year-old boy, Hamad, and his sister, three-year-old Dareen. Both were brought to a hospital in Yemen’s capital. While Dareen was heavily injured, “attached to a breathing tube, her body covered in gauze and her face marbled with burn marks”, Hamad had died. He had been, this man remembered, “roasted”.
Others from the Roga’ah family were later discovered deceased: 13-year-old Risala, nine-year-old Saleh, six-year-old Abdullah, six-year-old Nazam, five-year-old Abdulkader, three-year-old Hadi, and Motlak, an infant. Motlak’s mother was also killed. The remaining family, including Mosfer Roga’ah and his four sons – spared only because they were at a mosque, praying the late-night taraweeh prayers for Ramadan – have “hearts broken into pieces”. Each day is a trial, “remembering this family that disappeared without any reason.”
Prior to the publication of The New Yorker article, individuals posting to Facebook paralleled what The New Yorker published, writing that the home of Mosfer Al-Ruqa’a had been struck, and members of Mosfer’s family, mostly women and children, were killed and injured. Some sources referred to the family by their family name, Al-Ruqa’a, along with what appears to have been their tribal name, Al-Waili/Wayla.
According to Facebook user Hamdan Al Daif, four raids “targeted” the home of Mosfer bin Ruqa’a al-Tha’ali al-Waili and killed most of his family members, “most of them women and children”. A Facebook post from Ahmad Omar quoting information from local sources in the Sadaa Governorate stated that the home of the al-Ruqa’a family of the Wayla tribe in the Al-Uqab area of Sahar District was attacked, resulting in the death and injury of several family members.
Ahmad Omar added that amongst those injured were two brothers, Saleh Khater al-Waili and Abdulqader al-Waili, both children. It seems likely that Saleh is the nine-year-old boy by the same name, referred to by the man interviewed by The New Yorker, and Abdulqader is the five-year-old boy referred to by the man interviewed by The New Yorker. In recording the number of civilians killed, Airwars has recorded one child named Saleh and one child named Abdulqader. This will be updated should additional information come to light showing that multiple children by the same name were killed.
In a Facebook post shared by Mohammed Al Duhimi, Mohammed wrote that Abdulqader was the “fifteenth member of his family”. It is unclear whether Mohammed is saying that Abdulqader was the fifteenth member in terms of birth order, or the fifteenth family member to have passed away. Saleh and Abdulqader pair are seen in a photograph shared by Facebook user Anwar Al Haq.
Considering online sources, there was no immediate information about Mosfer, but a video shared by Mohammed Sahmee to Facebook reportedly showed Mosfer crying upon seeing the bodies of his “mother, wife, children, and family” who were reportedly killed.
Abulfatah Masoudi wished condolences to their neighbors of the Ruqa’a family for the death of “5 women and 7 children, 2 children are still missing and 5 children were injured”. The message from Abulfatah went on to wish for a speedy recovery for those injured, and patience for those who lost family members, along with an image of the rubble and excavator from another angle.
Airwars and Armament Research Services classified the remnants of the munitions based on images shared on social media as a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, which are archived on the Open Source Munitions Portal (OSMP) with codes OSMP1191, OSMP 1192, OSMP1193 and 1194.
Videos posted by sources Walid Al-Maljami, Ihtekam all sharabi, Nour Al-Huda Ahmed, and Alhadath al yamani have not been archived within this incident as they have been identified as videos relating to different events in Yemen from previous air campaigns.
Where sources identified a belligerent, all sources attributed the strikes to the US military, with some sources mentioning the “US-British alliance”.
This incident was updated on March 25, 2025 to include additional information about the munitions as identified by the OSMP. It was further updated on April 9, 2025 and April 11, 2025 to include information on civilian casualties as published by The New Yorker.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
The victims were named as:
Family members (10)
Geolocation notes (3) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention a strike on the Qahza area (منطقة قحزة) in Sadaa (صعدة). This incident was independently geolocated by Vleckie (@VleckieHond). Satellite imagery shows the strike location at the following exact coordinates: 16.964512, 43.735645.
Summary
Sources (45) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (21) [ collapse]
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Source: @TvAlmasirah -
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Source: @TvAlmasirah -
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Source: @TvAlmasirah -
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Source: @TvAlmasirah -
Source: Majed Al Madani Sadda
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Source: Majed Al Madani Saada
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Source: Majed Al Madani Saada
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Source: Majed Al Madani Saada
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Source: Majed Al Madani Saada
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Source: Abulfatah Masoudi
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Source: @Son_of_the_sun0 -
Source: @DhiyabalObeid2
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Source: @DhiyabalObeid2
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Source: Son of Gaza
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Source: Mohammed ismaeel al kadi
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Source: Liza liza -
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Source: Ahmed Almqmhy -
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US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
On March 15, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) initiated an operation consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen in order to restore freedom of navigation.