Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USYEM125-C

Incident date

September 5, 2012

Location

الهشم, Hashim, Hadhramout, Yemen

Geolocation

15.4619740, 48.4316200 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Up to four civilians were killed when an alleged US drone reportedly fired eight missiles on a residential house with a winery on the ground floor in the village of Hashim in Hadramout. Sources were conflicted as to who was killed, with some reporting that the strike killed up to six Al Qaeda affiliates and wounded three more militants.

According to the DPA news agency, “Four civilians were killed Wednesday in an airstrike by a US drone in eastern Yemen”. The sources added: “A local worker and three foreigners were killed in the strike on a house in the area of Wadi al-Ain in the province of Hadramout, said the independent Yemeni website Mareb Press.” A tweet from @BaFana3 reported that one civilian and four Iraqi/Syria Al Qaeda members were killed.

An anonymous US intelligence official confirmed a US drone carried out the strike. However, according to the Long War Journal, the Yemeni military later took responsibility for the attack.  A Yemeni security official said “none of those killed were on the government’s list of most-wanted terrorists.” The anonymous official told CNN: “Those killed were mostly new Al Qaeda members who were seeking to recruit more fighters from within the province. Only one of those killed had been with the network for more than three years.”

Initial reports said that two middle-ranking or senior members of the local branch of Al Qaeda were also among the dead, and a Yemeni military official said a “senior [Al Qaeda] member” named as Murad Ben Salem was killed in the strike.

However, an anonymous source told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that Murad, while he may have had militant links, was a worker to whom a traditional sesame oil press belonged to. Other sources, including Hour News, referred to the location as a “vegetable oil presser” and winery, adding that the explosion demolished the house that the winery was located below.

The source also reported that two foreign Al Qaeda members were killed, an Iraqi and a Syrian. Other reports said a Saudi and an Iraqi were among the dead. Xinhua identified three militants as being injured, and added that they had managed to flee the bombing area.

Witnesses reported that eight men escaped the building. “Weapons found in the house after the attack are enough to conduct more than a dozen terrorist operations,” according to a senior security official.

Reuters was the sole agency later to report that AQAP number two Said al Shehri died in the attack. AQAP announced the death of al Shehri in a video that was released on July 16, 2013 according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained the video. However, the statement does not specify when he was killed, only that it was by US drones. In October 2012, AP reported that “a man claiming to be Saudi-born [Said al Shehri] says reports of his death were a “rumor to cover up the killing of innocent Muslim civilians: and in April 2013, AQAP released a statement from al Shihri, and referred to him as if he was alive.

The reports at hand do contradict each other to some extent on how many civilians and belligerents were killed by the drone attack. While Reuters states that only five belligerents were killed in the attack, other sources such as Marebpress write that only four civilians were killed.

In addition, Hournews and Yafanews stated that the attack took place on September 4. All others reported that the strike took place on September 5.

Hour News reported that the bombing led to a state of panic and terror among the population, “as the target was between the residential houses in the Al-Hashem area and near the 26th of September School and close to the Babiker Charitable Hospital, which was dominated by a state of confusion within its departments and fear and panic among its sick”.

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured around dawn.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–6
  • Belligerents reported injured
    3

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (3) [ collapse]

  • Protests took place in three Yemen cities to demand an end to US drone strikes on September 7th.
  • Damage caused by alleged US drone strikes on September 4, 2012. (Image posted by Yafa News)
  • Damage caused by alleged US drone strikes on September 4, 2012. (Image posted by Yafa News)

Geolocation notes

Reports mention the village of Hashim (الهشم) in the Wadi Al Ain (وادي العين) area, Hadhramout governorate. The coordinates for the village of Hashim (الهشم) are: 15.4619740, 48.4316200. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

An anonymous US intelligence official confirmed to the Long War Journal that a US drone carried out the strike:

"...he strike was carried out by the US’s fleet of unmanned Predators and Reapers based in the area, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal. US drones have zeroed in on Hadramout province over the past month. Of the seven recorded strikes since the beginning of August, five have taken place in the eastern province..."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    Agriculture
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0 – 4
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    0–6
  • Belligerents reported injured
    3

Sources (19) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM124-C

Incident date

September 2, 2012

Location

صرار قيفة, Sarar Qifah, Bayda', Yemen

Geolocation

14.5370040, 44.7177870 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Confirmed US drones or jets killed between 11 and 14 civilians, including up to three women (one pregnant woman) and three children, in a botched attack on an alleged senior militant in the village of Al Saboul in Bayda province at 4pm on September 2, 2012. Up to 11 other civilians were wounded.

Al Masdar Online published the names of those killed: Abdullah Muhammad Ali al-Daqari (23-25 years old), Mubarak Muqbel al-Daqari (13 years old), Nasir Salah (50-60 years old), Rassila Ali (41-55 years old) (Nasir Salah’s wife), Dawlat Nasir (10 years) (Daughter of Nasir Salah), Abdullah Ahmad Abd Rabbo Rabeesh (28 years), Saddam Hussein Muhammad Musaad (18-28 years, student), Ismael Mabkhout Muhammad (25-30 years, farmer), Abd al-Ghani Muhammad Mabkhout (12-17 years, student), Masoud Ali Ahmed Muqbel (45 years old, farmer), Jamal Muhammad Abbad (30 years old).

The injured were listed as the driver Nasser Mabkhout, 45 and Sultan Ahmed Mohammed Sarhan, 27. Mohammed Abdo Jarallah died of his wounds three weeks later after he was transferred to Egypt for treatment. Alkarama, in an October 2013 report, said 11 pedestrians were injured in the strike.

Locals said that a 10-year-old girl, her mother, and her father (Nasir Salah, Rassila Ali and Dawlat Nasir) were killed while returning from a doctor’s visit. Both were corroborated by a report compiled by three human rights groups, submitted to a US Senate subcommittee hearing in April 2013. “The bodies were charred like coal. I could not recognize the faces,” said Ahmed al Sabooli, the dead girl’s 22-year-old brother. “Then I recognized my mother because she was still holding my sister in her lap.That is when I cried” reported Foreign Policy. Mwatana added that Rassila was pregnant at the time she was killed.

Alkarama quoted the father of Mubarak Muqbel al-Daqari, who described him as “Mubarak left school when he was in the sixth grade to work on a farm and help us financially. Everyone loved Mubarak, but his grandfather loved him most of all, and to this day we have not been able to tell him of his death.”

A report by Mwatana pointed out that many of the victim’s families lost their breadwinners in the strike: Mohammed Abdo Jarallah, who was killed in the attack, supported a family of 25. Masoud Ali Muqbel, who was also killed in the strike, had four sons and five daughters, all of whom were forced to leave school and go to work in their father’s farm after his death. Umm Moosa, the wife of Masoud Ali, said: “All my kids are still children. The eldest is 12 years old. For a whole week, my child kept asking, ‘Where is my father?’ and we told him that his father had gone to God. Moreover, my mother-in-law has been sick since her son’s death.”

Mareb Press reported that the dead were from the village of Saboul, and that a number of them were heading to Radaa to sell khat. A provincial police official, tribal officials and local residents said that a minibus was hit by mistake, killing the civilians.

Reports about the number of casualties from the strike were varied, with @AlainOnline tweeting that thirteen civilians were killed in an apparent drone attack, while @7aryaneh tweeted that eleven civilians were killed, but specifically included the details of three women. Kuwaite News @NewsKuwaite later reported that thirteen individuals were killed including a “prominent” al-Qaeda leader. @Akhbar tweeted shortly after that fourteen civilians were “mistakenly” killed in an airstrike.

The airstrike was initially said to have intended to strike a car carrying alleged militant Abdulraouf al Dahab at 4pm local time, with some sources stating that he survived the strike. Abdulraouf’s half-brothers Qayid and Nabil al Dhahab survived a US drone strike in May that year. They reportedly became local Al Qaeda leaders in Radaa after Yemeni intelligence services killed their brother Sheikh Tariq al Dahab in February 2012. Initial reporting from local and international media, including Reuters and Ahram News, reported that as many as 10 members of Al Qaeda were killed in the attack. However, these sources also note that the claims of killing Al Qaeda leaders were being contradicted by other sources.

At first military officials said Yemen Air Force jets killed them as they returned to their village because of faulty intelligence. However the Yemen Air Force lacks the technical capability to carry out a precision strike on a moving target, and the Yemen Post reported that the attack was the work of US drones.

Eyewitnesses also reported that a drone carried out the strike. In December 2012, US officials acknowledged responsibility for the attack. They told the Washington Post a “Defense Department aircraft, either a drone or a fixed-wing warplane” carried out the strike. Witnesses told the paper they saw three aircraft over the strike, two of them Yemeni. “I heard a very loud noise, like thunder,” said Sami al-Ezzi, a farmer who was working in his fields in Sabool, a farming village six miles from Radda. “I looked up and saw two warplanes. One was firing missiles.”

Witnesses also told Human Rights Watch researcher Letta Tayler that drones and jets were over the area on the day of the strike. Their testimony and the shrapnel they recovered from the site pointed to US involvement but could not determine if the drones or strike fighters launched the attack.

Recounting the aftermath of the strike, a local sheikh Nawaf Massoud Awadh told Tayler: “About four people were without heads. Many lost their hands and legs…These were our relatives and friends.”

“Their bodies were burning,” recalled Sultan Ahmed Mohammed, 27, who was riding on the hood of the truck and flew headfirst into a sandy expanse. “How could this happen? None of us were al-Qaeda” reported the Washington Post. “If we are ignored and neglected, I would try to take my revenge. I would even hijack an army pickup, drive it back to my village and hold the soldiers in it hostages,” said Nasser Mabkhoot Mohammed al-Sabooly, the truck’s driver, 45, who suffered burns and bruises. “I would fight along al-Qaeda’s side against whoever was behind this attack.”

The uncle of Mohammed Abdo Jarrallah, who was killed by the attack, told Mwatana: “We were all shocked by the incident. A group of qat vendors and farmers, including a woman and child, who had nothing to do with any [militant] group were killed. Everyone in the area knew them, and so did everyone in Rada’a market. They were coming home carrying home necessities and food for their families. Why did America kill them? What was their crime? Was it their fault that they were poor and they were from a poor and remote village? What is the crime of the victims’ children so that they lose their breadwinner in this horrible way?”

In their submission to a Senate subcommittee hearing, NGOs  HOOD, Alkarama and CCR interviewed survivors. One said: “We saw two planes coming close to us. One of them got very close and fired a missile and we flew from the car. Some were still alive, and wanted to flee, but the plane fired another missile to kill those who were not yet dead from the first.”

One of the survivors said: “The plane came very close to us, which enabled them with all certainty to see us and confirm to them that we were civilians and that we had children and women with us.”

The victims’ families, joined in protests by hundreds of others, “vowed to retaliate”. As CNN reported: “Families of the victims closed main roads and vowed to retaliate. Hundreds of angry armed gunmen joined them and gave the government a 48-hour deadline to explain the killings, which took place on Sunday. Eyewitnesses said that families attempted to carry the victims’ corpses to the capital, Sanaa, to lay them in front of the residence of newly elected President Abdurabu Hadi, but were sent back by local security forces.”

Yemen’s government later established a commission of inquiry into the deaths, the worst civilian tally since May. However, three months after the strike, locals complained that “the government is trying to kill the case” and that “the government wants to protect its relations with the US.”

Xinhua reported that a number of MPs “summoned Interior Minister Mohammed Qahtan to an emergency meeting to clarify over the civilian casualties of the U.S. drone strike” and that Minister of Human Rights Houria Mash’hour “condemned the ‘U.S. meddling’ in Yemeni internal affairs, saying that most casualties of the U.S. drones were civilians and calling for an immediate end to the U.S. interference and drone strikes.”

US chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan also spoke with President Hadi on September 4, though it is not known if the Radaa strike was discussed.

A BBC report on drone strikes in Yemen later reported that the Yemeni government paid $75,000 (£48,000) in blood money to the families of the victims while Mwatana reported that “in August 2014—nearly two years after the incident—the victims’ families received 7 million riyals (approximately US $32,578) for each family member killed, and 3 million riyals (approximately US $13,962) for each family member injured.”

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured at 16:00:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Mubarak Muqbel al-Daqari
13 years old male killed
Abdullah Muhammad Ali al-Daqari
25 years old male killed

Family members (3)

Nasir Salah
60 years old male killed
Rassila Ali
55 years old female pregnant killed
Dawlat Nasir
10 years old female killed

The victims were named as:

Abdullah Ahmed Abed Rabbo Robich
28 years old male killed
Saddam Hussein Mohamed Massad
28 years old male killed
Ismail Mabkhout Mohamed
30 years old male killed
Abed al Ghani Mohammed Mabkhout
12 years old killed
Masoud Ali Ahmed Mouqbal
45 years old male killed
Jamal Mohammed Abad
30 years old male killed
Mohammed Abdo Jarallah
Age unknown male killed
Nasser Mabkhout
Age unknown male injured
Sultan Ahmed Mohammed Sarhan
Age unknown male injured

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    11 – 14
  • (3 children3 women8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–11
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces

Sources (78) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Ahmed al Sabool holds photos of his mother, father and sister, who were killed in the strike on Sept 2 2012. (via Letta Tayler/Human Rights Watch).

  • This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.

    The aftermath of the alleged US strike on Al-Bayda, Spet 2nd 2012. This video contains images some people might find distressing (via Alkarama/YouTube).
  • Ahmed Saleh Ahmed al-Duqari lost two of his cousins in the Sept. 2 U.S. airstrike that killed 12 civilians near the town of Radda, Yemen. (Sudarsan Raghavan/The Washington Post)
  • Ahmed al-Sabooly describes the drone strike that killed three members of his family in Radda. (Image posted by BBC)
  • The immediate aftermath of a US airstrike in Sarar on September 2, 2012, that killed 12 civilians returning home from a market. © 2012 Private (Image from Human Rights Watch)

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

The video published by Alkarama mentions the village of Al Saboul (الصبول), for which the coordinates are: 14.5370040, 44.7177870. Other locations mentioned are the town of Rada’a (رداع), Sarar Qifah (صرار قيفة) and the road between the villages of Hama (الحمة) and Manaseh (المناسح). The coordinates for Sarar Qifah (صرار قيفة) are: 14.517317, 44.776728. The coordinates for Rada’a (رداع) are: 14.415088, 44.840937. The coordinates for Manaseh (المناسح) are: 14.579762, 44.750219. There are several villages by the name Hama. On Openstreetmaps Sarar Qifah is referred to as Hammat Sarar.

  • Al Saboul (الصبول) and Sarar Qifah ( صرار قيفة) between Manaseh (المناسح) and Rada’a (رداع)

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

In a Washington Post article published on December 25th, 2012, US officials acknowledged responsibility for the attack:

"...In response to questions, U.S. officials in Washington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said it was a Defense Department aircraft, either a drone or a fixed-wing warplane, that fired on the truck. The Pentagon declined to comment on the incident, as did senior U.S. officials in Yemen and senior counterterrorism officials in Washington."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    11 – 14
  • (3 children3 women8 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    4–11
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces

Sources (78) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM110-B

Incident date

June 25, 2012

Location

بئر حميد, Bir Hamid, Aden, Yemen

Geolocation

13.0327780, 44.9158330 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On June 25th, 2012, a declared US drone strike hit two vehicles in the outskirts of Aden in Bir Hamid at dawn. Three alleged AQAP members were killed, while several others were wounded. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.

The identities of those killed were not reported, but a source told the BBC that “among the dead was a prominent leader in the organization”. A security official said a drone fired two missiles on a convoy which destroyed their pick-up truck, and killed the three militants believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda including one senior commander. A US intelligence official confirmed American involvement to The Long War Journal, but would not say if a CIA or military drone carried out the strikes.

Additionally, Marebpress, BBC and Yemen Post mentioned that several militants were left wounded. Locals told Yemen Fox that they heard explosions and saw flames rising, but saw no bodies, adding that “other militants came and entered the area believed to pick up bodies of their colleagues.”

Military officials said the vehicles had been pursued by US drones, causing fear among local residents who worried the drones would bring destruction to their region. The vehicle was targeted on a desert road on the edge of the strategically important city of Aden. The convoy was hit as it travelled away from Abyan province.

A security official speaking anonymously to Xinhua said that “Two missiles bombed an Al Qaeda convoy, destroying a small pick-up truck and killing all passengers inside,” the security official said, adding that “They were coming from neighbouring Abyan province, where army troops seized control of the Al Qaeda bastions.

The BBC, Xinhua and the Long War Journal reported that this was the first strike in Aden.

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured in the morning.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike occurred on a desert road in the Beer Hameed (Bir Hamid/Bir Humayd) (بئر حميد) area, in the outskirts of the port city Aden (عدن). The vehicle that was targeted was traveling from the neighbouring Abyan province towards Aden. The generic coordinates for the Bir Hamid (بئر حميد) area are: 13.0327780, 44.9158330. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

Long War Journal, June 26th, 2012:

"A US intelligence official contacted by The Long War Journal confirmed the strike, but would not comment on the nature of the target; nor would the official say if the attack was carried out by the CIA or the US military."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2

Sources (14) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM073-C

Incident date

May 6, 2012

Location

وادي رفض, Wadi Al Abyadh, Rafd valley, Shabwa, Yemen

Geolocation

14.215432, 46.99306 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

On the 6th of May 2012 at approximately 5:30pm local time a drone strike, allegedly carried out by the CIA, killed up to six people, including one civilian, in Wadi Al Abyadh in Shabwa governorate.

A drone struck and killed Fahd al-Qasaa (37) along with at least one more individual in the Shabwa governorate of southern Yemen. Recently Fahd al-Qasaa had reportedly become the head of external operations for Ansar al-Sharia which remains loyal to Al Qaeda and was wanted by the US in connection to the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 which killed 17 U.S sailors.

According to several news outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and Reuters, al-Qasaa was struck by two missiles when exiting his car whilst he was travelling in the Rafd Valley close to his farm in the village of Wadi Al Abyadh. This has become a common area for Ansar al-Sharia militants to seek refuge. A spokesperson from Ansar-Al Sharia claimed that another individual named Fahed Salem al-Akdam was also killed by the strike. However, a local resident, Abu Baker Aidaroos (30), stated that his nephew, Nasser Salim (19), who was not a member of Al Qaeda, was also killed by the strike – Nasser Salim was tending to his farm when al-Qasaa arrived in his vehicle. Al-Qasaa knew Salim’s family and was greeting him when the missiles landed. His uncle told the Washington Post that “He was torn to pieces. He was not part of Al Qaeda. But by America’s standards, just because he knew Fahd al-Qasaa, he deserved to die with him.” A tweet from @gregorydjohnsen, a reporter based in Yemen, stated that Ansar al-Shariah was also claiming that a civilian was killed in the strike, in addition to the two members that they admitted were killed.

Further, confusion exists regarding whether al-Qasaa was accompanied by guards and whether they also died in the strike. France 24 reports that two guards were killed meaning that it is possible that up to four people died in the strike. No information is known on the identity of the guards.

Al-Resala Net provided the highest casualty number, quoting a Yemeni official who reported that al-Qasaa and 5 others were killed, adding that “4 rockets [hit] the wanted Fahd Al-Saqaa and his companions in his hometown in Shabwa.”

A tribal leader told Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabyee that “ Fahd Al-Qasaa arrived in Rafadh on Sunday at 10 am and stayed in the mosque nearby his house where he had lunch with his friend Nasser Salim Ali Al Akdam.” Airplanes were flying over the area all the time since he arrived,” said Salfoh. At about 5 pm they started to walk out from the mosque in the direction of the farm of Fahd in Wadi Al Abyadh which was only 1 km away. At about 5:30 pm and when al-Qasaa and his friend Nasser were about to arrive the farm, two missile were fired at them killing both of them.” One of the missiles hit Fahd directly cutting his body into pieces,” said Salfoh. “But the dead body of his friend Nasser was found as a whole, but also completely burnt,” he said.

For some background, in 2003, al-Qasaa was imprisoned by Yemeni authorities for his role in the bombing of the USS Cole but was able to briefly escape before being re-imprisoned to serve the rest of his sentence. In 2007 however, despite US objections, Yemeni authorities released him. Despite this defeat, US authorities are believed to have continued their search for him. Previously, it was believed that al-Qasaa was killed alongside al-Awlaki, another prominent al-Qaeda member, in 2009 but they both resurfaced later. However, after the strike on the 6th of May in 2012, al-Qasaa’s death was confirmed by Ansar al-Sharia themselves. Apparently, the drone strike came after an extensive surveillance program which was aided by a British agent embedded in Ansar al-Sharia. The undercover agent was tasked by Ansar al-Sharia to plant a non-metalic bomb on a U.S airliner but instead delivered the device directly to intelligence officials. This agent was also able, due to his central position in the organisation, to provide intelligence making the strike on Fahd al-Qasaa possible.

However, the cooperation between British and American intelligence services, which led to the information on al-Qasaa’s whereabouts, was not without controversy. Apparently according to Reuters, an unintentional leak emanating from Obama’s top counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, led to the story of the of the undercover agent in Ansar al-Sharia becoming public. Because of the leak, the plug had to be pulled on the continuance of the intelligence operation leading to frustration from British authorities.

Confirming the US role in the attack, an official told news agencies: “Fahd al-Quso was a senior terrorist operative of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was deeply involved in ongoing terrorist plotting against Yemeni and U.S. interests at the time of his death. He was also involved in numerous attacks over many years that murdered Americans as well as Yemeni men, women and children.”

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured at 17:30:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Nasser Salim
19 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2–5

Sources (47) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (7) [ collapse]

  • Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, killed in an alleged US drone strike on Wadi Rafad on May 6th 2012 (via New York Times).
  • Fahd al-Quso seen during his trial over the USS Cole bombing. He has allegedly been killed by a US air strike on May 6th 2012 (via the Guardian).
  • Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, killed in an alleged US drone strike on Wadi Rafad on May 6th 2012 (via LA Times).
  • Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, killed in an alleged US drone strike on Wadi Rafad on May 6th 2012 (via BBC).
  • Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, killed in an alleged US drone strike on Wadi Rafad on May 6th 2012 (via Alahale).

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike happened close to Fahd Al Qusu’s farm in the village of Wadi Al Abyadh in the Rafd valley (وادي رفض) in Shabwah (شبوة‎) province. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of the Wadi Al Abyadh village. However, the coordinates for the Rafd valley (وادي رفض) are: 14.215432, 46.99306.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

Confirming the US role in the attack, an official told agencies:

"Fahd al-Quso was a senior terrorist operative of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was deeply involved in ongoing terrorist plotting against Yemeni and U.S. interests at the time of his death. He was also involved in numerous attacks over many years that murdered Americans as well as Yemeni men, women and children."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2–5

Sources (47) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM065-B

Incident date

April 22, 2012

Location

الحرقان عبيدة, Sanda desert, near Obeida valley, Ma'rib, Yemen

Geolocation

15.515556, 45.395278 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Subdistrict level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Three to four militants, including one of the most senior leaders of AQAP (Al Qaeda on the Arab Peninsula) were killed in a US drone strike on a road between the regions of Ma’rib and Jawf, near the Obeida valley on the afternoon of the 22nd of April, 2012. The majority of media sources, both local and international, report the number of militants killed in the strike as “at least three” (referencing a statement made on the incident by the Yemen defence ministry). However, one report by the Associated Press (AP) on the 22nd of April stated that ‘military officials’ had claimed that a minimum of four people died in the strike.

Mohammed Saeed al-Umda (alias: Abu Ghareeb Al-Taizi) was killed when his car was struck by a missile as it travelled along a desert road within the region of al-Samdah. Al-Masdar Online quoted local sources who claimed that the strike had occurred “twenty kilometres from the city of Ma’rib in the northeastern direction.” On the 29th of April, @Flashpointintel reported that Al Qaeda in Yemen had “released a statement on the death of the commander Gharib Al-Taazi (Muhammad al-‘Omdah)”. The next day, on the 30th of April, the Long War Journal reported that al-Umda’s death, along with the deaths of “two mujahideen” had been announced and confirmed by AQAP on several jihadist websites.

The attack was initially reported by local sources simply as an “air raid” or “airstrike” with @brqnews specifically stating that the strike was conducted by “warplanes”. Xinhua also initially reported that an Al Qaeda convoy had been attacked by “Yemeni air forces”, however the deployment of US drones in the strike was soon acknowledged by US officials. Furthermore, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has concluded that the Yemeni Air Force (YAF) lacked “the technical ability to carry out such a precise strike” at the time.

Due to al-Umda’s high profile as Yemen’s fourth ‘most wanted’ al-Qaeda leader, the strike received extensive media coverage. According to ABC News, “the strike targeted the SUV he was riding in as part of a ‘militant convoy’ in a remote desert region of southern Yemen.”

ABC News added that US officials had acknowledged that “the attack was conducted by a CIA drone.” Almotamar also reported that a ‘local security source’ from Ma’rib governorate had confirmed the deaths of three Al Qaeda members.

‘Al-Masdar Online’ and ‘Aden al-Ghad’ reported accounts of the strike from different local sources. Aden al-Ghad reported that witnesses observed that “the raid destroyed the targeted cars and that flames were still rising from them” with other witnesses stating that “the bombing caused permanent damage to one of the cars, while the other was severely damaged”. Additionally, Bloomberg quoted a statement made by Yemen’s defence ministry which said that “a third vehicle was able to escape.”

According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, AQAP released a statement via ‘WefaPress’ several months later in October, confirming the names of al-Umda’s two aides killed in the air strike as “Hassah Hussein Dalel and Basher al Najidi”.

Several western media sources stressed the significance of al-Umda’s death and his prominent role within AQAP. CNN, ABC and Boston.com all referred to statements made by the Yemeni embassy in Washington and the nation’s interior ministry which emphasised that al-Umda was not only one of AQAP’s “top commanders”, but that he was also tasked with providing logistical and financial support. The statement issued by the Yemeni embassy also added that al-Umda had been trained in Afghanistan under the supervision of Osama bin Laden.

Reuters, on the 26th of April, reported that a spokesman for al-Qaeda affiliate organisation ‘Ansar al-Sharia’ had contacted their staff by phone to inform them that an attack made against a gas pipeline in the eastern province of Shabwa was carried out “in response to the killing of an al-Qaeda leader in the central Ma’rib province.” Although it is not confirmed, it seems possible that this pipeline attack may have been an attempted response to the killing of al-Umda.

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–4

Sources (32) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the desert area Sanda (or Samdah) between the governorates Ma’rib (مَأْرِب) and Jawf (الجوف‎). One source mentions that the Sanda area is near Obeida valley (الحرقان عبيدة). The coordinates for Obeida valley are: 15.515556, 45.395278. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

ABC News added that US officials had acknowledged that “the attack was conducted by a CIA drone."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–4

Sources (32) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM047-C

Incident date

March 9, 2012

Location

المخنق, Al Makhnaq, Al Zahir district, Bayda, Yemen

Geolocation

14.0141440, 45.367645 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Ten to 43 suspected militants were reported killed in a drone strike at 9:15pm on al Bayda, Yemen, March 9th, 2012. Yet in interviews, human rights activists and victims’ relatives said “many” of the dead were civilians, not fighters, with at least two named civilian victims and a report of a child killed. As many as 55 people were also wounded. United States officials took responsibility for the strike on April 1st, 2012.

Two alleged civilians were named in a Washington Post report as the brothers of Salim al Barakani.

A late evening airstrike on Bayda by US drones struck a gathering of alleged militants. As many as 34 ‘AQAP militants died including ‘four senior leaders‘ – one named as Hadaar al Homaiqani, a local AQAP leader. Almasdar Online added additional names of those killed: Hadaar al Homaiqani (two cousins ​​with the same name), Abdul-Aziz Al-Barq, Mohsen Mirza, and Ahmed Sharaf, and two belonging to the Al-Qirbi family, and a person called Abdul-Malik (from Sana’a) and another called Samarkand (from Sanaa) and two belonging to the Al-Barakani family, in addition to two from Shabwa governorate and another from Mudiyah, Abyan. Albayan added the names Ali Ahmad al-Barakani, Husayn Ahmad al-Barakani, Ali Taha al-Qirbi, Saleh Taha al-Qirbi, and Muhammad Taha al-Qirbi.

Bayda’s governor claimed “two Pakistanis, two Saudi nationals, and one Syrian and one Iraqi” were among the dead.

A source in the city told Reuters that “Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area,” while a military official reported that ‘the attack targeted a gathering of Al Qaeda elements and a number of them were killed.’

An AQAP spokesman told Xinhua: “More than two US drones are still striking several posts of al Qaida in three villages outside al Bayda’s central city.” AQAP also released a statement that only 17 of its fighters were killed in al Bayda and no one was injured.

On March 11th, 2012 Al-Bayan stated that eyewitnesses reported that the strikes killed 27 and wounded 55. A tweet from @ElMokhalesTV reported that 43 people were killed. Neither source specified whether the killed or wounded were civilians or belligerents.

On March 11th at 10:31am local time, journalist @ionacraig tweeted that a 13 year-old boy was killed in a “recent US drone strike.” However, it is unclear if he is referencing this strike or the one on March 10th.

On April 1st, 2012 a US official confirmed the attack, with the Los Angeles Times reporting: ‘American missiles soon rained down. The Al Qaeda commander was killed, along with 22 other suspected militants, most of them believed to be young recruits receiving military training, US officials said.’ The strike was reportedly carried out by a JSOC drone.

In May 2012, the Washington Post reported that ‘many civilians’ had died in the attack, according to interviews with victims’ relatives and human rights activists. Two brothers of local businessman Salim al Barakani – one a teacher, the other a cellphone repairman, were among the civilians killed.

Almotamar quoted Brigadier General Ali Aziz Al-Hujaili, commander of the Al-Bayda governorate axis, commander of the 26th Republican Guard Brigade, who said that an air strike, which he described as successful, was launched against the headquarters of terrorist groups of Al Qaeda in the Al-Mukhanq area and in the people of Madbi in Al-Bayda Governorate.

Al Barakani told The Post that after the attack: “Villagers were too afraid to go to the area. Al Qaeda militants took advantage and offered to bury the villagers’ relatives. That made people even more grateful and appreciative of Al Qaeda. Afterwards, Al Qaeda told the people, ‘We will take revenge on your behalf.’ ”

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured at 21:15:00 local time.

The victims were named as:

Family members (2)

Brother of Salim al Barakani
Adult male killed
Brother of Salim al Barakani
Adult male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 10
  • (0–1 children2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–55
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    10–43
  • Belligerents reported injured
    0–55

Sources (48) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that three villages west of Bayda town were targeted, named Al Makhnaq (or Al Makhzan), Al Dooqi (or Al Dogi or Dhabiah) and Al Mahmdud (or Al Mahmdood). The ‘Jabra area’ in Al Zahir district is also mentioned to have been targeted. The village Al Makhnaq (المخنق) in Al Zahir district in the Bayda governorate is located at these coordinates: 14.0141440, 45.3676450. Airwars was unable to verify the location of the other two villages mentioned, or the ‘Jabra area’.

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

On April 1st, a US official confirmed the attack, with the Los Angeles Times reporting: ‘American missiles soon rained down. The al Qaeda commander was killed, along with 22 other suspected militants, most of them believed to be young recruits receiving military training, US officials said.’

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    2 – 10
  • (0–1 children2 men)
  • Civilians reported injured
    0–55
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    10–43
  • Belligerents reported injured
    0–55

Sources (48) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USSOM022-C

Incident date

February 24, 2012

Location

K60, Lower Shabelle, Somalia

Geolocation

1.91405, 44.90641 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian man was possibly killed as a US drone struck and killed up to seven members of al-Shabaab at Kilometre 60 or K60, in Lower Shabelle, 60km south west of Mogadishu on the road to Marka/ Mercer, international media reported. The action came hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had told a conference on Somalia in London that airstrikes against al Shabaab “would not be a good idea.”

A local civilian told Reuters that fighter jets roared overhead before a loud blast ripped through the night air. Hassan, a local resident said: “First we saw a huge flash and then a big explosion shook the ground… Later we saw a huge crater and nearby trees were burned.” Al Shabaab confirmed the strike but “said it was not clear if the dead were its fighters or civilians.”

Initially, no civilian harm was reported. But more than a year after the attack German journalists identified a civilian killed in the event. Mohammed Abdullahi, 50, had taken his animals to pasture when the drones struck, according to a joint investigation by newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and Germany’s national broadcaster NDR. The investigation was based on testimonies by the victim’s son, a 34-year-old goat herder.

As Süddeutsche wrote (translation): “Mohamed Abdullahi, at the age of fifty, is one of the elders of his clan. He is a highly respected man: people come to him when there is conflict – the best grass or water, the essentials of nomadic life. He says who is right and who has to give in, and his award is valid. There is no other law here in the bush. On this day he has to go far until he finds fresh grass for his camels, almost an hour. Maxamed Abdullahi is a tall, sinewy man with short hair and a narrow beard. He wears the long robe of the nomads and cheap black sandals “made in China”. He protects himself from the sun with a turban or hat, while camel hats he usually wraps his bedding around his head. Then he has something to take to nap…

“When Maxamed Abdullahi is not back the next morning, Salman and his siblings set out to find him. On the way they learn of a bomb attack, but they still do not bring this message in connection with the missing father. Then they meet a woman who brings her camel milk to the city to sell. She tells us that the body of a civilian lies at the point of attack. Their own dead always bring the al-Shabaab people away, they are buried as martyrs solemnly. Civilians leave them lying, often for days.

Salman Abdullahi and his clan follow the directions of the milk saleswoman, and encounter the carcasses of a few dead camels, and on the torn corpse of a man at the point of attack: The upper body lies like a thrown on a tree, the rest underneath. Only the face is reasonably intact. Salman Abdullahi recognizes his father immediately. Staring with shock and unable to touch his father’s body, he watches as others from his clan pick up the body parts, place them in a cart, cover them up, and bring them home. The al-Shabaab militia have banned them for a proper funeral, so they hastily pick up a grave and bury Maxamed Abdullahi. Killed by the Americans in an attack from Germany, left calm by the militants of the Al-Shabaab militia.

Maxamed Abdullahi does not leave his son a single picture. He never owned a camera, and he has never been photographed. Photos bring bad luck, as many Somalis think. And yet, there is a digital memory: On the video recordings of the on-board camera shortly before the impact of the Hellfire rocket, a tall, narrow nomad to be seen, wrapped in traditional Somali robes, the bedding wrapped around the head, black cheap sandals to the feet. Taken a moment before his death. It is the only portrait that will remain of Maxamed Abdullahi, stored in the digital archive of the US military, or perhaps on a now-sorted computer, at least somewhere in Ramstein. In Germany.

If the directional microphone of the drone was employed, it can even be heard on these recordings, what happened down there. The explosion, screams of pain, the silence afterwards. What ever. If the co-pilot has switched to thermal imager, the crew was able to watch how the temperatures changed after the attack. How the bodies of people became colder and colder.”

An American official in Washington confirmed the attack was carried out by a United States drone. A second official said an “international” member of al Shabaab was the target of the strike, though he said a white Kenyan reported killed in the attack was not the target.

A range of sources reported that the strike had killed between four and seven al Shabaab militants. Al Shabaab identified one of the dead as Moroccan Sheikh Abu Ibrahim. According to Reuters: ‘A very senior Egyptian was killed. Three Kenyans and a Somali also died.’ AFP reported that the strike targeted an al Qaeda commander in his vehicle, destroying the car and killing him.

Among those reported killed was a militant initially named only as Sakr and described as ‘the Egyptian.’  The Bureau of Investigative Journalism later revealed his full name was London-born Mohamed al Sakr, the best friend of and former deputy of Bilal al-Berjawi (himself killed on January 22nd 2012.) A February 2013 investigation by the Bureau, published by the Independent, uncovered that Sakr had – like al Berjawi – had his British citizenship stripped by the UK’s Home Secretary Theresa May prior to his assassination. He was one of more than 20 people to lose their British citizenship on the orders of successive Home Secretary. The practice has been compared to “medieval exile” by leading human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce.

Sakr’s parents later said they believed the loss of his UK citizenship had left their son vulnerable to attack by the US. “I’ll never stop blaming the British government for what they did to my son. They broke my family’s back,” his father told the Bureau.

The strike coordinates were reportedly provided by two al Shabaab militants Ishaq Omar Hassan, 22, and Yasin Osman Ahmed, 23. The two were also accused of providing targeting information for the CIA to kill Bilal al Berjawi, and were executed in July 2012 along with 33-year-old Mukhtar Ibrahim Sheikh Ahmed – accused of spying for Britain’s MI6. Alabama-born jihadist and US citizen Omar Hammami, also known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, revealed a rift within Al Shabaab when he released a video in which he declared that his life was at risk as a result of an internal search for moles. “I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahideen due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of the sharia and matters of strategy.” Al Shabaab tweeted that al-Amriki “was not endangered”.

Yet reports emerged the following day that the al Qaeda-linked group had arrested al-Amriki and taken him into custody. It was later claimed that Hammami was executed by Al Shabaab on April 5th 2012.

In August 2017, a German court refused to hear a case relating to the potential unlawful killing of farmer Abdullahi in a US strike from German soil. As Süddeutsche Zeitung noted (translation): “Abdullahi’s lawyers are not satisfied with this answer. The files show that ‘none of the prosecutors has conducted an effective investigation into this case,’ says Natalie von Wistinghausen, who Abdullahi and Eberhard Kempf represent.”

Süddeutsche later added: “The death of the Somali camel herder was ‘at best indirectly’ caused by a – possible – omission of the Federal Republic of Germany, the court ruled. This meant: It may be that Germany has a little something to do with it. Because US Air Base Ramstein is clearly the data hub for drone missions in Africa. But just not enough, that the son of the victim should therefore be checked by a German court, how much Germany really has to do with it. The son has no legal standing, was the conclusion of the Cologne court.”

The incident occured at approximately 3:00 am local time.

The victims were named as:

Mohammed Abdullahi
50 years old male killed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4–7

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (4) [ collapse]

  • Mohamed al Sakr as a young man (Image courtesy of family, all rights reserved.)
  • Mohamed Sakr as a young man (Image courtesy of family)
  • Gamal Sakr, father of Mohamed: "I’ll never stop blaming the British government for what they did to my son." (Image courtesy of Susannah Ireland/ The Independent)
  • The Home Office letter sent to al Sakr's parents, depriving him of his UK citizenship weeks before the US assassinated him.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in an area called K60, on the road between Afgoye and Marka, south of Mogadishu. The coordinates for this area are: 1.91405, 44.90641. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

  • The area called K60 on the road between Afgoye and Marka (marked in red), south of Mogadishu

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

Reuters, February 24th, 2012:

"A missile strike killed four foreign Islamist militants south of Somalia's capital on Friday, an intelligence official said, a day after the country's prime minister called for foreign air strikes against the al Shabaab rebel group.
Residents reported hearing a large explosion which targeted a car in the early hours of the morning in an area known as 'Kilometre 60', between Mogadishu and the port town of Marka in the insurgent-controlled Lower Shabelle region.
"A very senior Egyptian was killed. Three Kenyans and a Somali also died," a senior intelligence officer who declined to be named told Reuters."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1
  • (1 man)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    4–7

Sources (20) [ collapse]

Incident Code

USYEM046-B

Incident date

January 30–31, 2012

Location

الخديرة, Awadh Abd Al Nabi school in the village Al Khadira, Abyan, Yemen

Geolocation

13.838889, 45.964722 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Nearby landmark level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between three and 15 Al Qaeda members were killed and up to 15 others were injured in confirmed US airstrikes conducted by a mix of drones and manned aircrafts under the US Department of Defence’s control on Awadh Abd Al Nabi school in the village Al Khadira on January 31, 2012. There were no known reports of civilian casualties.

According to Alarabiya, witnesses described three strikes in total, the first two struck the school where the suspected militants were having a meeting and the last one struck a four-wheel drive vehicle near the school. The strikes were said to be against several suspected local leaders from Al Qaeda. It is alleged that Abdul Monem al-Fadhani (Fathani), Al-Khadr Em-Soudah and Ahmed Mu’eran Abu Ali were killed in this attack. Reuters refers to four of those killed as being “local leaders”.

One report noted Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir or leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, ‘broke down in tears… on the road between ‘Azzan in Shabwa and Mudiyah in Abyan province, upon seeing the body of the leader Abdul Monem al-Fadhani (Fathani). According to a tweet from @ionacraig a week after the strikes, “Half a dozen charred bodies were not identified”.

Reported by The Washington Post and multiple other sources, Fathani has been wanted by the US due to his alleged links to the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 and an attack on a French oil tanker in 2002. Preliminary reporting said that Nasir al Wuhayshi also was present at the meeting and had been killed in the strikes but al Qaeda later confirmed that Nasir was killed June 9, 2015 in a US strike (USYEM224). Wuhayshi’s brother was reportedly killed by a US drone strike a month earlier, on December 22 (USYEM045-B).

A senior U.S. official confirmed to CNN that the strike was carried out by a mix of drones and manned aircraft under the control of the Defense Department, not the CIA. The US officials did not give a particular number, claiming that the situation was “very complex”. However, an Al Qaeda Spokesman claimed there had been only 3 members of the organization killed and two were wounded. The sources agree that there were no civilian casualties, and the majority of them claim that four Al Qaeda members were killed in the strike. It was said to be considered one of the biggest American strikes in Yemen up until that point, as it targeted many of the Al Qaeda leaders at the same time. Sources told Yafa Newspaper that “the warplanes continued to hover over the region, which created a state of panic among children, women and the elderly” and that some fled their homes.

Three men were later executed by Ansar al Sharia on February 12 in connection with this attack. Three men were initially reported as being ‘beheaded at dawn’ by Yemeni militant group Ansar al Sharia for allegedly giving information to the US to allow it to conduct drone strikes in the area. Although residents of the towns of Jaar and Azzan told Reuters that two Saudis and one Yemeni were executed, a spokesman for Ansar al Sharia later said ‘none of those executed were Saudi citizens, but all three had been working for the intelligence services of the kingdom, a close ally of the United States’.

In August 2012, video emerged indicating that one of the men – Saleh Ahmed Saleh Al-Jamely – was crucified by Ansar al Sharia. The group indicated that he had been killed in connection with the drone strike on January 31. MEMRI reported that the other two men, Hassan Naji Hassan al Naqeeb – accused of recruiting, delivering chips, and paying spies; and Ramzi Muhammad Qaid al Ariqi – accused of spying for the Saudi intelligence by taking photographs of several buildings, were executed in public, but not crucified.

Due to the nature of both CIA and US military involvement in Yemen, and the lack of official acknowledgement by the CIA for their involvement, Airwars grades this event as “declared” due to the comments made by US government sources to media, in lieu of public reporting on CIA actions.

The incident occured during the night.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–15
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2–15

Sources (31) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes (2) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention that a school (of the Martyr Awadh Abd Al Nabi) in the village Al Khadira (الخديرة), between the towns Lawdar (لودر) and Mudiya (مودية) was struck, as well as a convoy of cars in the same area. The coordinates for the village Al Khadira (الخديرة) are: 13.840369, 45.963478. One building in the village is marked on Wikimapia as a school (named Awad Ahmed Awad School مدرسة عوض احمد عوض الابتدائية), at these coordinates: 13.838889, 45.964722. However, no visible damage to the building can be seen on satellite imagery between 24 August 2011 and 2 April 2012.

  • Roads connecting the towns Lawdar (لودر) and Mudiya (مودية), the village of Al Khadira (الخديرة) located on the southern road

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

  • The school in the village of Al Khadira (الخديرة)

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces
Official source

A senior U.S. official confirmed to CNN that the strike was carried out by a mix of drones and manned aircraft under the control of the Defense Department, not the CIA.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian infrastructure
    School
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    0
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known attacker
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3–15
  • Belligerents reported injured
    2–15

Sources (31) [ collapse]