Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

YEMYEM007

Incident date

May 27, 2012

Location

جعار, West of Ja'ar, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.22009, 45.304524 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In a night of battles and strikes on Jaar, Abyan province, a bomb hit a factory on May 27, 2012, reportedly killing several Al Qaeda militants. Of the deceased, up to seven militants were allegedly killed by airstrike whilst up to 15 militants were killed in fights on the ground. Ennahar Online recorded one civilian death, however the cause of death remains unclear. The strikes were reportedly conducted by Yemen forces.

According to Reuters, “the bodies of seven militants were seen on Sunday being carried away from a factory located west of Jaar, which is used by Ansar al-Sharia as a base, after it was attacked by a Yemeni warplane on Saturday night.” AFP, quoted by An-Nahar Online, reported that five Al Qaeda militants, including a field commander named Abdul Rahman al-Muslimi, and one civilian were killed in night battles with aviation supporting the ground forces, without specifying how the militants and civilian were killed.

The factory that was struck was to the west of the city and was allegedly a base used by the Yemen-based Al Qaeda branch, Ansar al Sharia.

The incident occured during the night.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention a factory west of the town of Ja’ar (جعار). Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of this factory. The generic coordinates for the west of the town of Ja’ar (جعار) are: 13.22009, 45.304524.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5–7

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Yemeni Air Force Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Yemeni Air Force
  • Yemeni Air Force position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Weak
    Single source claim, though sometimes featuring significant information.
  • Suspected belligerent
    Yemeni Air Force
  • Suspected target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5–7

Sources (2) [ collapse]