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Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: YEM299)
At least five alleged AQAP militants were reportedly killed in the course of at least four US drone strikes in the vicinity of Qayfa, in Bayda governorate, on the evening of January 12th 2018. At least one of these strikes reportedly took place in the area of Jabal Novan, allegedly killing four. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.
Multiple English-language sources, including @Dr_E_Kendall, @JoshuaKoontz__, and @demolinari, named the four reportedly killed in Jabal Novan as Abu Abdullah Al-Ibbi, Jarrah Al-Ibbi, Abu Mohammed Al-Taizi, Abu Al-Layl Al-Baydani, quoting pro-AQAP feeds.
Abu Abdullah Al-Ibbi was described by these sources as the “companion”, “assistant”, or “bodyguard” of AQAP judge Abu Al-Bara Al-Ibbi. According to Dr Elizabeth Kendall, Abu Al-Bara Al-Ibbi was a “breakaway” cleric, and @JoshuaKoontz__ suggested that his pro-jihad writings were popular on unofficial AQAP social media groups.
There were also reports of strikes in the Dhi Kalib, Al-Jassima and Hami Liqah areas of Qayfa on January 12th. Unique events have been created to account for these reports.
Several sources indicated that strikes in Qayfa on the 12th resulted in a number of militant deaths and injuries. Locals reportedly told Al Yom Press that “the raids targeted a site for the militants as well as a car belonging to them, and resulted in deaths and injuries”. Two English-language sources, @demolinari and @switch_d, further named one of the dead as Jawas Ahmed.
Since it was unclear which specific strike(s) allegedly killed Jawas Ahmed or resulted in injuries, these reports are accounted for in this event. Given these reports, Airwars has assessed that a minimum of five alleged militants were killed overall, and two injured, in the strikes.
In an email to Long War Journal, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed that a strike took place against AQAP in Bayda on January 12th (as well as one against ISIS in the same province). There were no known reports of strikes against AQAP outside of Qayfa on that day. This confirmation has been accounted for in this entry, though it could have applied to any or all of the reported strikes in Qayfa, Bayda, on January 12th.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Jabal Novan (جبل نوفان), north from the town of Rada’a (رداع), within the Qifah (قيفه) district, for which the coordinates are: 14.493551, 44.760258. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Military Statements
Media From Sources (6)
Several US drone strikes targeted #AQAP militants in #Qayfa region of #Bayda on Jan 12. Strikes reported in Hammat Laqah, Jabal Nawfan, and Dhi Kalib. #Yemen
— demolinari (@demolinari) January 13, 2018