US drone strikes reportedly targeted alleged AQAP militants in the Mudiyah district, Abyan governorate, late on March 31st 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm, nor of alleged militant casualties in the strikes.

Sources including @demolinari and Yemeni journalist Saeed al-Batati (@saeedalBatati) reported that US drone strikes had targeted AQAP militants to the west of Mudiyah town; and journalist Ahmad Algohbary reported two drone strikes in the district.

@adammbaron tweeted that this was the third consecutive night of US air strikes in the area.

This reported event took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP in March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, 50 US military airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The incident occured during the night.

Reported US drone strikes targeted alleged AQAP militants in the Al Bazqama and Riman area of Mudiyah, Abyan governorate at dawn on March 31st 2017.  There were no known reports of civilian casualties, though some sources claimed that a civilian farm had been destroyed.

Alittihad reported that, according to a local source, three strikes took place, one of which targeted and killed AQAP militants, including a “field leader”, travelling in a car near a farm near Al Bazqama area. It was also reported that, according to local officials, the strike targeted AQAP training and “positioning” sites.

Local language sources, for example al Sharq, reported that a single AQAP operative was killed in a drone strike in the same Bazgama area – some said, while travelling in a vehicle. It was unclear whether this referred to the same strike against a vehicle reported by Alittihad.

Aden Now News suggested that US airstrike targeted a chicken farm, “used to manufacture improvised explosive devices and car bombs”, also in the Al Bazqama area, though other Twitter sources said that it was instead a civilian family farm. It is possible that this strike was the same as that which reportedly targeted AQAP militants near to a farm in Al Bazqama.

Airwars has assessed the minimum number of alleged belligerent casualties as two, drawing on the Alittihad report that plural militants were killed, and reflecting the possibility that the single reported AQAP militant death in a vehicle referred to the same strike. The maximum has been set at three, reflecting the possibility that these were discrete casualty incidents.

Assessments of the total number of strikes in the area varied.  One Twitter source reported that four US drone strikes took place in Mudiyah on that morning, targeting “suspected #AQAP militant sites and a vehicle”, while Alittihad suggested that three took place in Al Bazqamah and Riman.  Others suggested that two strikes targeted Al Bazqamah and Riman areas, with a third targeting Mudiyah city centre.

This strike allegedly took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP, beginning in early March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, fifty US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The incident occured around dawn.

Several sources reported that a US drone strike in Al Wade’a district, Abyan governorate, targeted the home of alleged AQAP leader Abu Ubaidah al-Damaji at around dawn on March 31st 2017. There were no known reports of civilian harm.

Sources indicated that it was unclear whether al-Damaji or any others died in the strike on his house, and other reports suggested that he died in another reported US strike, on the same night, against a vehicle in Bayda governorate.

It is possible that this strike was one of several that targeted the Al-Muhajjab area of Al Wade’a from March 30th to March 31st (see for example USYEMTr056).

According to @demolinari, residents reported that several of overnight strikes in Al Wade’a did not kill any AQAP militants, but did damage electrical lines.  Local sources told Aden al-Ghad that the last strike against al-Damaji resulted in an electrical blackout in Al Wade’a and the surrounding area.

This reported event took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP beginning in early March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, fifty US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The incident occured around dawn.

A reported US drone strike targeted alleged AQAP militants travelling in a vehicle on the road connecting Wadi Nakhla to Al Suhail, in the Sirwah district of Marib governorate, early on March 30th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

While most sources indicated that the strike was launched by a US drone, one did assign it to “Saudi-American aggression”.  Multiple sources reported that the vehicle was targeted while travelling on the Al Suhail and Nakhla road. Some claimed that the vehicle was carrying “heavy weapons”.

Images from the scene show total destruction of the vehicle, indicating that those inside were killed. Airwars has therefore set the belligerent toll at one to two deaths in this case. Images of the scene also enabled Airwars precisely to geolocate this incident (see below.)

This reported event took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP beginning in early March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, fifty US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The incident occured between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm local time.

A US drone strike reportedly killed alleged AQAP leadership figure Nayef Al-Damaji and his “companions” in the Sharjan area of Al Suma’a district, Bayda governorate, on March 30th 2017, according to two local-language news outlets.  There were no known reports of civilian harm.

According to both sources, Yemen Voice and Akhbarak, the strike targeted Al-Damaji as he travelled in a car between Suma’a and Makirais.  Al-Damaji was alleged to be the AQAP leader in Lauder, Abyan governorate.  Akhbarak cited a Sky News Arabia report, which could not be found by Airwars.

The strike reportedly killed Al-Damaji and “a number” of his “companions”.  Given this, Airwars has assessed that a minimum of three militants were reportedly killed in this strike.

Other sources alleged that a strike had targeted Al-Damaji’s home in Al Wade’a, Abyan governorate, on the same night (USYEMTr058), though some indicated that it was unclear whether Al-Damaji had been killed in his home.

This reported event took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP beginning in early March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, fifty US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

US drone strikes reportedly targeted alleged AQAP militants in the Al Muhajjab district of Al Wade’a in Abyan governorate, overnight from March 30th to March 31st. However several different villages were suggested as the location or locations of the action. There are no known associated reports of civilian harm.

Several sources, including Al Araby, reported that three strikes targeted vehicles in the area, with some suggesting that the strikes took place in Al Souda village. Both Reuters and Shabwa Press indicated that, according to local sources, an overnight strike targeted a car on a road in Al-Wadhi district. The number of casualties from strikes against vehicles were unknown.

Multiple sources, including Reuters, also reported that a strike in the Al Muhajjab area targeted a house where alleged AQAP militants were meeting, killing three including local leader Waddah Muhammad al-Souda.

According to Shabwa Press, al-Souda was instead killed in a house in the village of Al-Mozno, and an air strike targeted “the home of Muhammed al-Megrahi in the village of Al-Kudo“.  It is possible that Al-Mozno and Al-Kudo are distinct, but the context of the Shabwa Press article indicates that al-Souda may have been killed in the home of al-Megrahi, and that one of the villages may lie next to another.

Several sources also indicated that the strikes in Al-Wadhi district damaged electrical infrastructure in the area.

This reported action took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP beginning in early March 2017. On April 3rd, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, from February 28th to the final week of March, fifty US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.

The incident occured during the night.