Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEMTr094

Incident date

July 31, 2017

Location

الخثلة, Al Khathla, Ma'rib, Yemen

Geolocation

15.175453, 45.182058 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A US drone strike reportedly killed five alleged AQAP militants, including foreign fighters, in Al Khathla village in the Juba area of Marib governorate, early on July 31st 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

According to AFP, a Yemeni security official said that five alleged militants were killed in a drone strike “likely to have been carried out by the United States”. The official said that “foreigners” were among those killed in the strike, which targeted a gathering of people “known to belong to Al-Qaeda”, though no further information was available on specific nationalities.

Some sources suggested that the strike took place on a house in the village, though others, including Aden al-Ghad, suggested the five were instead killed while travelling in a car. Yemen Press reported that, according to local sources, three drone strikes targeted the vehicle. Al Hakea noted that the village had previously been targeted i na US raid on May 23rd.

One local language Twitter source, @ali_alabd_, asserted that a “reformist leader”, named as “Blasney”, was killed in the strike along with four other militants, though no other sources corroborated this.

According to one source, SMA News, “a number of other” militants were wounded in the strike, which it reported took place as militants met in a house. As such, Airwars has assessed that a minimum of two militants were reportedly injured in the strike.

In an email to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US Central Command said there had been no US strikes in Marib province at that time. This did not preclude the possibility of a CIA action, however.

The incident occured in the morning.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention either a vehicle or a residential building being struck in the village of Al Khathla (الخثلة). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Al Khathla are: 15.175453, 45.182058.

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 belligerent
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (43) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

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 belligerent
    US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (43) [ collapse]