Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEMTr172

Incident date

July 4, 2018

Location

مرخة, Merkhat districts, Shabwa, Yemen

Geolocation

14.681653, 46.144336 Note: The accuracy of this location is to District level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A single source, Al-Masdar Online, suggested that a US drone strike had targeted alleged AQAP militants in Merkhat, in Shabwa governorate, on the evening of July 4th 2018. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

“The source told Al-Masdar Online that the air strike targeted the militants in the Merkhat area last Wednesday evening [July 4th], which led to the killing of the extremist militants and the burning of their car completely. He pointed out that the dead are armed men, among whom there are no leaders.”

It is possible that this source refers to another alleged US drone strike in Shabwa on July 6th 2018 (USYEMTr173), or that some of the sources listed in the later event refer instead to a strike on July 4th.

In a statement on recent strikes in Yemen issued by CENTCOM on August 30th 2018, no mention was made of a US action on July 4th.

The incident occured in the evening.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the Merkhat (مرخة) area, within Shabwa (شبوة) governorate. This could refer to either the Merkhat Al Olya (مرخة العليا)or the Merkhat Al Sufla (مرخة السفلى) districts. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for these areas are: 14.681653, 46.144336.

  • Reports of the incident mention the Merkhat (مرخة) area, within Shabwa (شبوة) governorate. This could refer to either the Merkhat Al Olya (مرخة العليا)or the Merkhat Al Sufla (مرخة السفلى) districts.

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • 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

Sources (2) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Single source claim
  • 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

Sources (2) [ collapse]