Jump to content

Terrorism in Yemen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Wadi Dawan attack)

In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism".[1] There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.

Attacks on civilian targets

[edit]

1992 Aden hotel bombings

[edit]

Limburg attack

[edit]

In October 2002, near the port of Mukalla, suicide bombers rammed an explosive-laden boat into the Limburg, a French oil tanker, killing a Bulgarian crew member and spilling 90,000 barrels (14,000 m3) of oil into the Gulf of Aden. Saudi born Abdulraheem al-Nashiri, prime suspect of the USS Cole bombing, paid $40,000 to fund the Limburg attack. With that money, the former Al Qaida leader Abu Ali al-Harithi bought the explosives and transported them from his house in Shabwa to Mukalla in Hadramut.[2]

Civil Aviation, Meteorological Authority and helicopter attacks

[edit]

On 3 November 2002 there was an attack on a helicopter carrying Hunt Oil Co. Employees shortly after taking off from Sana'a. A missile and a machine gun were fired at the helicopter injuring two American citizens.[3] One person was jailed for the helicopter attack as well as for bombing the Civil Aviation and Meteorological Authority building in Sana'a.[4][5]

Jibla hospital

[edit]

On December 30, 2002, a suspected Islamic fundamentalist killed three US workers and wounded one in a hospital in Jibla with a semi-automatic rifle. Two men were eventually convicted and executed for the attack - the gunman Abid Abdulrazzaq Al-Kamil, and the 'mastermind' Ali Ahmed Mohamed al-Jarallah, who had also been convicted of the 2002 murder of Yemeni politician Jarallah Omar.[6][7]

Al-Salem letter threats

[edit]

Jews in Yemen reportedly fled their homes due to threats from Muslim extremists. Al-Qaeda members sent letters to 45 Jews living in al-Salem (near Sana'a) on January 19, 2007, accusing them of involvement in an "international Zionist conspiracy". The Jewish community sent a complaint to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and temporarily moved to a hotel near Sana'a. The Yemeni government promised to protect their homes and reassured them that they could return.[8][9]

US Embassy

[edit]

On September 17, 2008, Al-Qaeda militants attacked the US Embassy in Sana'a. 20 people were killed, including six militants, six policemen and seven civilians. One American was also among those killed.

Attacks on tourists

[edit]

A suicide bomber killed eight Spanish tourists and their two Yemeni drivers in Ma'rib on July 2, 2007. On January 18, 2008, Al-Qaeda militants opened fire on a convoy of tourists in Hadhramaut, killing two Belgian tourists, two Yemenis, the tourists' driver and their guide. In March 2009, four South Korean tourists and their local Yemeni guide were killed. Two attackers also died.

UAE-run secret prisons

[edit]

In the name of punishment, Yemenis are tortured at the hands of Houthis and Saudi Arabia-led military. According to a report published by the Associated Press, the United Arab Emirates runs a network of secret prisons across southern Yemen, where several hundreds of Yemenis on suspicion of being al-Qaida or Islamic State militants are held.[10]

According to former detainees, families of prisoners, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials, there are at least 18 lock-ups hidden away in military bases, air and seaports, the basements of private villas and even a nightclub. Prisoners are held without any charges, with the Yemeni government having no control over these UAE-run prisons.[11]

Beir Ahmed prison in the southern city of Aden is one such prison, where detainees are tortured and sexually assaulted by the UAE officers. Prisoners are electrocuted by their genitals and rocks are hung from their testicles. They are also sexually violated with wooden and steel poles. In March 2018, Emirati officers blind-folded and handcuffed all the detainees of Beir Ahmed prison and made them stand under the sun until noon. The detainees were asked to undress and lie down with their legs spread open. The Emirati forces then touched their genitals and probed their rectums in search of mobile phones.[12]

Bin Salman mosque bombing

[edit]

The Bin Salman mosque was bombed on 2 May 2008 at the Bin Salman Mosque in Sa'dah, and killed 15 and injured 55. Local officials believed the bomb was hidden in a car or a motorcycle.[13]

Some witnesses said the target may have been the mosque's imam, or prayer leader, an army officer who adheres to the Salafi school of Sunni Islam. Witnesses said he was not hurt. Military personnel are among those who usually pray at the Bin Salman mosque, which like others in Yemen caters for both the majority Sunni community and Shia Zaidis.[14]

Wadi Dawan attack

[edit]

On January 18, 2008, there was an ambush attack on Belgian tourists traveling in a convoy through Hadhramaut in the Wadi Dawan desert valley A convoy of four jeeps carrying 15 tourists to Shibam was ambushed by gunmen in a hidden pickup truck.[15] Two Belgian women, Claudine Van Caillie, of Bruges, 63, and Katrine Glorie, from East Flanders, 54, as well as two Yemenis, a driver and a guide, were killed; another man was also heavily wounded, several others suffered minor wounds.[16] The tourists were repatriated to Belgium on January 19, except the injured man, who remained in Sanaa.[17]

In the wake of the attack, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel De Gucht originally rejected that Al-Qaeda might be responsible, explaining that although the possibility could be avoided, internecine disputes and latent Islamism also to be taken into account.[16] A number of arrests were made on January 21.[18] President of the European Council Slovenia released a statement saying "The EU Presidency strongly condemns all forms of violence and calls on the government of Yemen to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice."[19]

Military and police counter-terrorism operations

[edit]

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, President Ali Abdullah Saleh attempted to eliminate the Islamist militant presence. By November 2002, Yemeni government troops had detained 104 suspected al-Qaeda members.[20]

In December 2001 a search by government forces for two Yemenis believed to be senior al-Qaeda members hiding near Ma'rib led to a gun battle with tribesmen which ended in the deaths of 34 people, including 18 soldiers. To defuse the situation, ten Ma'rib sheikhs were detained as hostages of the state in the presidential palace for 35 days, until 43 lesser tribesmen took their place.[21]

At the request of the United States, Spanish troops boarded and detained a ship transporting Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen in December 2002. After two days, when the United States determined that it had no right under international law to continue detaining the shipment, it was allowed to continue on its way to Yemen.[22][23]

On July 30, 2009, three soldiers were killed in a clash with al-Qaeda militants in Marib province.[24] On December 17 the village of Al Ma`jalah was hit by a cruise missile which killed 41 people, including 14 women and 21 children; 14 were alleged al-Qaeda members. While the Yemeni government initially took responsibility, photographs of American components and a leaked diplomatic cable suggested that it was carried out by the United States.[25] ABC News reported that US cruise missiles were part of the camp bombardment targeting Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi.[26] According to a local official and a tribal source, 49 civilians (including 23 women and 17 children) were among those killed in the strike. That day, a clash between security forces and al-Qaeda members in Abhar left four militants dead.[27]

An air raid targeted an al-Qaeda meeting in Wadi Rafadh, Shabwa province on December 24, 2009. Thirty-four al-Qaeda militants were killed in the attack. According to security forces, Saudis and Iranians were among those killed. The number of al-Qaeda members arrested the previous week rose to 29.[27]

US air attacks

[edit]

The US first said that it used targeted killing in November 2002, with the cooperation and approval of the Yemeni government.[28][29] In 2004, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC-TV) international-affairs program Foreign Correspondent investigated the targeted killing and the involvement of the US ambassador as part of a report entitled "The Yemen Option". The report examined evolving tactics and countermeasures in dealing with al-Qaeda-inspired attacks.[30]

An estimated 98 US drone attacks were conducted in Yemen from 2002 to 2015: 41 in 2012, 26 in 2013 and 14 in 2014.[31]

2002 Al-Harethi killing

[edit]

Early in 2002 the Bush administration approved sending about 100 Special Operations Forces to Yemen.[32]

Six Yemeni suspected al-Qaeda members were blown up in their car in Marib province in November 2002 by a Hellfire missile from an unmanned CIA Predator drone.[33] Among the dead were Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi (aka Abu Ali al-Harithi), a suspected senior al-Qaeda lieutenant believed to have helped mastermind the October 2000 USS Cole bombing.[28][29][34] Al-Harethi was on a list of targets whose capture or death had been ordered by US President George W. Bush.[28] and Kamal Derwish (aka Ahmed Hijazi), an American.[28][35][36]

2010 al-Shabwani killing

[edit]

In May 2010 an errant US drone attack targeting al Qaeda terrorists in Wadi Abida killed five people, including Ma'rib province deputy governor Jaber al-Shabwani (who was mediating between the government and the militants). The killing angered Shabwani's tribesmen and in subsequent weeks they fought government security forces, twice attacking a major oil pipeline in the province.[37]

2011 airstrikes

[edit]

On May 5, 2011, a missile fired from a US drone killed Abdullah and Mosaad Mubarak, brothers who may have been al-Qaeda militants. The missile struck their car, and both died instantly.[38][39] The strike intended to kill al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, but he was not hit in the strike.[40]

On June 3, 2011, American manned jets (or drones) killed Ali Abdullah Naji al-Harithi, a mid-level al-Qaeda operative, and several other militant suspects, including Ammar Abadah Nasser al-Wa'eli, in a strike in southern Yemen.[41] Four civilians were also reportedly killed in the strike, reportedly coordinated by American special forces and CIA operatives based in Sanaa.[42] According to the Associated Press, in 2011 the US government began building an air base near Yemen from which the CIA and the US military planned to fly drones over Yemen.[43][44] This base is located at Umm Al Melh, just north of Yemen inside Saudi Arabia. The Washington Post reported that the US previously used a base in Djibouti to fly drones over Yemen,[45] while The Wall Street Journal reported that a US drone base in the Seychelles could be used to fly drones over Yemen.[46]

According to local residents and unnamed American and Yemeni government officials, on July 14, 2011, US manned aircraft (or drones) attacked and destroyed a police station in Mudiya, Abyan Governorate which had been occupied by al-Qaeda militants. Yemeni media and government accounts conflicted on the number of fatalities, estimated at between 6 and 50. The same day and nearby, drone missiles reportedly hit a car belonging to Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Fahd al-Quso, but al-Quso survived the attack.[47][48][49][50][51]

On August 1, 2011, US drones and reported Yemeni aircraft attacked three targets with bombs and missiles in southern Yemen, killing 15 suspected al-Qaeda militants and wounding 17 others. Targeted locations included al-Wahdah, al-Amodiah, and al-Khamilah in Abyan Governorate. One of those killed was reportedly militant leader Naser al-Shadadi. According to the Yemen Post online newspaper, "At least 35 US drone attacks were reported in Yemen over the last two months".[52][53][54] On August 24, unidentified aircraft attacked suspected al-Qaeda militants near Zinjibar. The strikes reportedly killed 30 militants and wounded 40 others.[55]

According to Yemeni officials, as reported in the Long War Journal, US airstrikes in southeast Abyan province from August 30 to September 1 killed 30 AQAP militants reportedly engaged in combat with Yemeni military forces.[56] Two airstrikes by US-operated aircraft on September 21 reportedly killed four AQAP fighters in Abyan and seven AQAP fighters in Shaqra.[57] On September 30 US drone-launched missiles killed four people, including al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, in Al Jawf Governorate. The strike also killed Samir Kahn, the American-born editor of Inspire magazine. It was the first known time that the US deliberately targeted US citizens in a drone attack.[58]

A reported drone strike in Zinjibar on October 5 killed five AQAP militants.[59] Yemeni government officials said that an October 14 US airstrike killed seven AQAP militants, including Egyptian-born AQAP media chief Ibrahim al-Bana.[60] Eight militants were reportedly killed in an airstrike near Jaar on December 17; a December 22 drone strike near Zinjibar reportedly killed Abdulrahman al-Wuhayshi, a relative of Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi.[61]

2012 airstrikes

[edit]

A reported US airstrike on January 31, 2012, near the city of Lawder in Abyan province killed 11 AQAP militants. The dead reportedly included Abdul Monem al-Fahtani, a participant in the USS Cole bombing.[62] Drones engaged in three attacks in three days on March 9–11, 2012. The first strike targeted an AQAP hideout near Al Baydah, Baydah province, reportedly killing local AQAP leader Abdulwahhab al-Homaiqani and 16 of followers. The second strike, on Jaar in Abyan province, reportedly killed 20 AQAP fighters. The third strike, also on Jaar, reportedly killed three AQAP militants and targeted a storage location for weapons seized by AQAP after it overran a Yemeni military base in Al Koud the previous week.[63] A fourth drone strike, on March 14 in Al Bydah, reportedly killed four AQAP militants in a vehicle.[64]

On April 11, 14 militants were killed in a drone strike in the town of Lauder (northeast of Zinjibar in Abyan province).[65] An April 22 drone strike in the Al Samadah area, near the border of Marib and Al Jawf provinces, killed AQAP senior leader Mohammed Saeed al Umda (also known as Ghareeb al Taizi).[66] A suspected US drone strike killed Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso and another al-Qaida militant in southern Shabwa province on May 6.[67]

2013 Rada' wedding convoy strike

[edit]

On December 12, 2013, 17 people[68][69] in a wedding convoy were killed in the Rada' District of the Governorate of Al-Bayda'.[70] The US drone mistakenly targeted the wedding convoy after intelligence reports identified the vehicles as carrying suspected AQAP members.[71] Although five of the killed were suspects, the remainder were civilians.[72]

2014 airstrikes

[edit]

On March 3, 2014, an airstrike believed carried out by an American drone killed three suspected AQAP members. Mujahid Gaber Saleh al Shabwani, one of Yemen's 25 most-wanted AQAP operatives, was thought to have been one of those killed.[73] According to a statement released by the Yemeni Interior Ministry, on April 20–21 three US drone strikes killed at least two dozen suspected AQAP members and destroyed one of the group's training camps in southern Yemen. Five civilians were wounded and three killed in the attack.[74] A June 13 suspected US drone strike targeted a car in the Mafraq al-Saeed region of Shabwah province, killing the five alleged AQAP operatives inside.[75]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Background Note: Yemen Archived June 4, 2019, at the Wayback Machine US Department of State, January 2006
  2. ^ Herbert-Burns, Rupert; Bateman, Sam; Lehr, Peter (September 2008). Lloyd's MIU handbook of maritime security. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 60. ISBN 9781420054804. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  3. ^ Blau, Justine (April 5, 2003). "Al Qaeda Suspect Arrested In Yemen". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Yemen raises al-Qaeda sentences". BBC News. BBC. February 5, 2005. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  5. ^ Hull, Edmund J (2011). High-Value Target: Countering al Qaeda in Yemen (illustrated ed.). Washington DC: Potomac Books, Inc. p. 34. ISBN 9781597976794. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  6. ^ "Three Baptist Hospital Staff Killed in Yemen". Domini.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Firing squad executes Yemeni for killings of Baptist workers". The Christian Index. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  8. ^ "News Brief". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  9. ^ "Yemenite Jews under pressure from Muslim extremists". World Jewish Congress. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  10. ^ "Ex-inmates: Torture rife in prisons run by Yemen rebels". The Associated Press. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "Inside Yemen's secret prisons: 'We could hear the screams'". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  12. ^ "Detainees held without charges decry Emiratis' sexual abuses". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "Deadly blast strikes Yemen mosque". BBC News. May 2, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  14. ^ "Bomb attack on Yemen mosque kills 15". Al Arabiya English. May 2, 2008.
  15. ^ BBC NEWS - Al-Qaeda attack Belgian Tourists
  16. ^ a b (in French) Deux Belges tuées au Yémen, Le Soir, January 18, 2008.
  17. ^ (in French) Yémen: les touristes belges rapatriés, Le Soir, January 19, 2008.
  18. ^ (in French) Plusieurs suspects arrêtés au Yémen, Le Soir, January 21, 2008.
  19. ^ Belgian Tourists Return Home From Yemen Ordeal, ArabNews, 20 January 2008.
  20. ^ Al Qaeda Arrests Worldwide Fox News
  21. ^ "Al Qaeda men sought in Yemen". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 21, 2001. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  22. ^ "Scud affair draws US apology". BBC News. December 12, 2002. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  23. ^ "U.S. lets Scud ship sail to Yemen". CNN. December 12, 2002. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  24. ^ "Breaking News, UAE, GCC, Middle East, World News and Headlines - Emirates 24/7". Emirates 24/7. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  25. ^ "Wikileaks cable corroborates evidence of US airstrikes in Yemen". Amnesty International. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  26. ^ "The civilian massacre the US neither confirms nor denies". thebureauinvestigates.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  27. ^ a b "34 suspected Al-Qaeda'killed in Yemen air strike'". The Raw Story. December 24, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2010. [dead link]
  28. ^ a b c d Gary D. Solis (2010). The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War. Cambridge University Press. pp. 538–47. ISBN 978-0-521-87088-7. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  29. ^ a b Walter Pincus (November 26, 2002). "U.S. Says Yemen Aided Missile Strike". The Daily Gazette. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  30. ^ "Foreign Correspondent – 02/03/2004: The Yemen Option". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on September 6, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  31. ^ Roggio, Bill; Barry, Bob. "Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2014". The Long War Journal. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  32. ^ US Broadens Terror Fight, Readying Troops for Yemen, New York Times, March 2, 2002 Archived November 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "U.S. Citizen Among Those Killed In Yemen Predator Missile Strike – The Tech". Tech.mit.edu. November 8, 2002. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  34. ^ Nyier Abdou (November 20, 2002). "Death by Predator". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  35. ^ "Q&A: Targeted Killings" Archived November 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Eben Kaplan, The New York Times, January 25, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  36. ^ "Profile: Kamal Derwish". History Commons. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  37. ^ "Drones spur Yemenis' distrust of government and U.S." Reuters. October 27, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  38. ^ "Suspected U.S. drone missile strike leaves 2 militants dead in Yemen". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  39. ^ [1] Archived March 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ Mazzetti, Mark, "Drone Strike In Yemen Was Aimed At Awlaki", New York Times, 7 May 2011, p. 11; Coker, Margaret, "Drone Targets Yemeni Cleric", Wall Street Journal, 7 May 2011, p. 1.
  41. ^ Roggio, Bill, "AQAP confirms deaths of 2 commanders in US airstrike Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 21 July 2011.
  42. ^ Mazzetti, Mark, "U.S. Is Intensifying A Secret Campaign Of Yemen Airstrikes", New York Times, 9 June 2011.
  43. ^ Associated Press, "Secret CIA drone base being built to target Yemen militants", Japan Times, 16 June 2011, p. 1.
  44. ^ DeYoung, Karen, "U.S. Air Attacks In Yemen Intensify", Washington Post, 17 September 2011, p. 1.
  45. ^ Whitlock, Craig, and Greg Miller, "U.S. assembling secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula, officials say Archived October 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine", Washington Post, 21 September 2011.
  46. ^ Barnes, Julian E., "U.S. Expands Drone Flights To Take Aim At East Africa", Wall Street Journal, 21 September 2011, p. 1.
  47. ^ Arrabyee, Nasser, and Mark Mazzetti, "U.S. Strikes In Yemen Said To Kill 8 Militants", New York Times, 15 July 2011, p. 9.
  48. ^ Roggio, Bill, "US airstrike kills 6 al Qaeda fighters in Yemen: report Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 14 July 2011.
  49. ^ [2] Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ Arrabyee, Nasser; Mazzetti, Mark (July 14, 2011). "U.S. Strikes in Yemen Said to Kill 8 Militants". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  51. ^ Whitlock, Craig, and Mohammed al-Qadhi, "Al-Qaeda Fugitive In Yemen Eludes Attack", Washington Post, 16 July 2011, p. 9.
  52. ^ Al-Qadhi, Mohammed, "Airstrikes Kill Militants In S. Yemen", Washington Post, 2 August 2011, p. 9.
  53. ^ Wan, William (August 2, 2011). "Militants killed in air attacks in south Yemen". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  54. ^ "US Drones Kill 15 in Yemen's Abyan Province- Yemen Post English Newspaper Online". yemenpost.net. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  55. ^ Al-Haj, Ahmed, Associated Press, "Yemen strikes kill 30 al-Qaida-linked fighters", Military Times, 24 August 2011.
  56. ^ Roggio, Bill, "US airstrikes in southern Yemen kill 30 AQAP fighters: report Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 1 September 2011.
  57. ^ Roggio, Bill, "US airstrikes kill AQAP fighters in southern Yemen Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 22 September 2011.
  58. ^ Almasmari, Hakim, Margaret Coker, and Siobhan Gorman, "Drone Kills Top Al Qaeda Figure", Wall Street Journal, 1 October 2011, p. 1.
  59. ^ New York Times, "Drone Strike In Yemen", 6 October 2011.
  60. ^ Associated Press, "Yemen Says Local Al-Qaida Chief, 6 Others Killed", Arizona Daily Star, 15 October 2011.
  61. ^ Reuters, "U.S. Drone Kills Yemen Al Qaeda Leader's Relative: Source", 23 December 2011.
  62. ^ DeYoung, Karen, "U.S. Airstrike Targets Al-Qaeda In Yemen", Washington Post, 1 February 2012, p. 10; Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 11 AQAP leaders, fighters: report Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 31 January 2012.
  63. ^ Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 3 AQAP fighters in Yemen Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 12 March 2012.
  64. ^ Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 4 AQAP fighters Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 15 March 2012.
  65. ^ "U.S. drone kills 14 al-Qaida militants in Yemen's south". Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  66. ^ Roggio, Bill, "AQAP confirms commander linked to Osama bin Laden killed in drone strike Archived December 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine", Long War Journal, 30 April 2012.
  67. ^ Al-Haj, Ahmed (Associated Press), "Airstrike kills senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen Archived September 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", Yahoo! News, 7 May 2012.
  68. ^ "Yemen wedding convoy strike highlights civilian drone war toll". Yahoo News UK. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  69. ^ "Drone strike in Yemen killed 17, mostly civilians". Your Middle East. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  70. ^ "US drone strike kills civilians in central Yemen". December 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  71. ^ "Yemen says U.S. drone struck a wedding convoy, killing 14". CNN. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  72. ^ Ali, Zaid; King, Laura (December 13, 2013). "U.S. drone strike on Yemen wedding party kills 17". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  73. ^ Bill Roggio: US kills 3 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike Archived December 19, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, March 3, 2014
  74. ^ Schmitt, Eric (April 21, 2014). "U.S. Drones and Yemeni Forces Kill Qaeda-Linked Fighters, Officials Say". The New York Times. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  75. ^ "Five killed in Yemen drone strike". Al Jazeera. June 14, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2014.