Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEMTr093

Incident date

July 30, 2017

Location

كوكب, Kawkab, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.92494, 46.18719 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A US drone strike reportedly targeted at least one alleged AQAP militant, described as a leadership figure, near Kawkab village, in the Mudiyah district of Abyan governorate, on the evening of July 30th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

According to @demolinari, the strike targeted the vehicle of a “local AQAP leader” near to the village. Local residents told Al Rai Press that an initial strike missed the car, which was then destroyed by a second missile.

Two social media sources, @saleh_binali and @nasryemen0086, suggested that at least one person was injured in the strike. The former indicated that a “local source” was injured in a strike against a car, while the latter simply indicated that it had “caused injuries”. Given these reports, Airwars has assessed that at least one, and as many as two, militants were injured in the strike.

The incident occured in the evening.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported injured
    1–2

Sources (9) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Kawkab (كوكب), east of Mudiyah (موديه) town, for which the generic coordinates are: 13.92494, 46.18719. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected attacker
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported injured
    1–2

Sources (9) [ collapse]