United States airstrikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.Al Qaeda Arrests Worldwide FOX News
With the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, the Saudi led coalition also attacked Houthi rebels using drone warfare. The Houthi military have as well used drone warfare to attack the Saudi led coalition and pro Yemen government troops.
Background The US first said that it used targeted killing in November 2002, with the cooperation and approval of the Yemeni government. On November 5, 2002, al-Qaeda operatives in a car traveling through Yemen were killed in a targeted killing by a missile launched from a CIA-controlled Predator drone.
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.
According to The Times, in 2010 the United States, in cooperation with Yemeni officials, launched four cruise missiles at suspected terrorist targets in Yemen. According to the Times, Yemen asked the United States to suspend the strikes after one of the missiles killed a pro-Yemeni tribal leader, Sheikh Jaber al-Shabwani, the deputy governor of Marib province, resulting in his tribe turning against the Yemeni government. The Times also stated that U.S. special forces troops were on the ground in Yemen helping to hunt al-Qaeda operatives.Tomlinson, Hugh, Michael Evans, and Iona Craig, "US Attacks Al-Qaeda In Yemen", The Times, 9 December 2010.
An estimated 98 US drone attacks were conducted in Yemen from 2002 to 2015: 41 in 2012, 26 in 2013 and 14 in 2014.
Timeline
2002 Early in 2002 the Bush administration approved sending about 100 Special Operations Forces to Yemen.US Broadens Terror Fight, Readying Troops for Yemen, New York Times, March 2, 2002
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. 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. Al-Harethi was on a list of targets whose capture or death had been ordered by US President George W. Bush. and Kamal Derwish (aka Ahmed Hijazi), an American."Q&A: Targeted Killings" , Eben Kaplan, The New York Times, January 25, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
Also see: Marib airstrike
2010 In May 2010 an errant US drone attack targeting al-Qaeda terrorists in Wadi Abida, Yemen, killed five people, among them Jaber al-Shabwani, deputy governor of Ma'rib Governorate who was mediating between the government and the militants. The killing so angered Shabwani's tribesmen that in the subsequent weeks they fought heavily with government security forces, twice attacking a major oil pipeline in Marib.
2011 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. The strike intended to kill al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, but he was not hit in the strike.Mazzetti, Mark, "Drone Strike In Yemen Was Aimed At Awlaki", New York Times, May 7, 2011, p. 11; Coker, Margaret, "Drone Targets Yemeni Cleric", Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2011, p. 1.
On June 3, 2011 American manned jets (or drones) attacked and killed Ali Abdullah Naji al-Harithi, a midlevel al-Qaeda operative, and several other militant suspects, including Ammar Abadah Nasser al-Wa'eli, in a strike in southern Yemen.Roggio, Bill, "AQAP confirms deaths of 2 commanders in US airstrike ", Long War Journal, July 21, 2011. Four civilians were also reportedly killed in the strike, reportedly coordinated by American special forces and CIA operatives based in Sanaa.Mazzetti, Mark, "U.S. Is Intensifying A Secret Campaign Of Yemen Airstrikes", New York Times, June 9, 2011. According to the Associated Press, in 2011 the US government began building an airbase near or in Yemen from which the CIA and US military plans to operate drones over Yemen.Associated Press, "Secret CIA drone base being built to target Yemen militants", Japan Times, June 16, 2011, p. 1.DeYoung, Karen, "U.S. Air Attacks In Yemen Intensify", Washington Post, September 17, 2011, p. 1. 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,Whitlock, Craig, and Greg Miller, "U.S. assembling secret drone bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula, officials say ", Washington Post, September 21, 2011. while The Wall Street Journal reported that a US drone base in the Seychelles could be used to fly drones over Yemen.Barnes, Julian E., "U.S. Expands Drone Flights To Take Aim At East Africa", Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2011, p. 1.
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 gave conflicting accounts on the number of casualties, estimated at between 6 and 50 killed. 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.Arrabyee, Nasser, and Mark Mazzetti, "U.S. Strikes In Yemen Said To Kill 8 Militants", New York Times, July 15, 2011, p. 9.Roggio, Bill, "US airstrike kills 6 al Qaeda fighters in Yemen: report ", Long War Journal, July 14, 2011.Whitlock, Craig, and Mohammed al-Qadhi, "Al-Qaeda Fugitive In Yemen Eludes Attack", Washington Post, July 16, 2011, p. 9.
On August 1, 2011, US drones and reportedly Yemeni aircraft attacked three targets with bombs and missiles in South Yemen, killing 15 suspected al-Qaeda militants and wounding 17 others. The locations targeted 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 "At least 35 US drone attacks were reported in Yemen over the last two month."Al-Qadhi, Mohammed, "Airstrikes Kill Militants In S. Yemen", Washington Post, August 2, 2011, p. 9.
On August 24, 2011, unidentified aircraft attacked suspected al-Qaeda militants near Zinjibar. The strikes reportedly killed 30 militants and wounded 40 others.Al-Haj, Ahmed, Associated Press, "Yemen strikes kill 30 al-Qaida-linked fighters", Military Times, August 24, 2011.
According to Yemeni officials as reported in the Long War Journal, US airstrikes in southeast Abyan Governorate on August 30 to September 1, 2011 killed 30 AQAP militants. The militants were reportedly engaged in combat with Yemeni military forces.Roggio, Bill, "US airstrikes in southern Yemen kill 30 AQAP fighters: report ", Long War Journal, September 1, 2011.
Two airstrikes by US-operated aircraft on September 21, 2011, reportedly killed four AQAP fighters in Abyan and seven AQAP fighters in Shaqra.Roggio, Bill, "US airstrikes kill AQAP fighters in southern Yemen ", Long War Journal, September 22, 2011.
On September 30, 2011, US drone-launched missiles killed four people, including al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, in Al Jawf Governorate. The strike also killed Samir Khan, American-born editor of Inspire magazine. The strike marked the first known time that the US had deliberately targeted US citizens in a drone attack.Almasmari, Hakim, Margaret Coker, and Siobhan Gorman, "Drone Kills Top Al Qaeda Figure", Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2011, p. 1.
A reported drone strike on militant hide-outs east of Zinjibar, capital of Abyan Governorate, on October 5, 2011 killed five AQAP militants. According to Yemeni government officials, a US airstrike on October 14, 2011 killed seven AQAP militants, including Egyptian-born Ibrahim al-Bana, AQAP's media chief.Associated Press, "Yemen Says Local Al-Qaida Chief, 6 Others Killed", Arizona Daily Star, October 15, 2011.
On October 14, 2011, a similar drone strike killed al-Awlaki's 17-year-old son, Abdelrahman al-Awlaki, and eight others.
A drone strike on December 22, 2011, near Zinjibar reportedly killed Abdulrahman al-Wuhayshi, a relative of Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi. A further eight militants were reported killed in an air strike near Jaʿār, Abyan Governorate, on December 17, 2011.
2012 An airstrike, reportedly performed by US aircraft, on January 31, 2012, near the city of Lawdar in Abyan province, killed 11 AQAP militants. The dead reportedly included Abdul Monem al-Fahtani, a participant in the USS Cole bombing.DeYoung, Karen, "U.S. Airstrike Targets Al-Qaeda In Yemen", Washington Post, February 1, 2012, p. 10; Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 11 AQAP leaders, fighters: report ", Long War Journal, January 31, 2012.
The Long War Journal reported that in 2012, the US carried out its first drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout Governorte in May 2012, from mid-May until the end of the year, the US launched seven attacks in the Governorate- a total of 41 drone strikes that took place in Yemen in 2012.
Drones engaged in three attacks over three days from 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 his militants. The second strike hit Jaʿār in Abyan province, reportedly killing 20 AQAP fighters. The third strike, also in Jaʿār, reportedly killed three AQAP militants and targeted a storage location for weapons AQAP had seized after overrunning a Yemeni military base in Al Koud the week before.Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 3 AQAP fighters in Yemen ", Long War Journal, March 12, 2012. A fourth drone strike on March 14, 2012 in Al Bydah reportedly killed four AQAP militants in a vehicle.Roggio, Bill, "US drone strike kills 4 AQAP fighters ", Long War Journal, March 15, 2012.
On April 11, 14 militants were killed in a drone strike in Lawdar town, northeast of Zinjibar, Abyan province. A drone strike on April 22, 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).Roggio, Bill, "AQAP confirms commander linked to Osama bin Laden killed in drone strike ", Long War Journal, April 30, 2012.
On May 6, 2012 a suspected US drone strike killed Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso and another al-Qaeda militant in southern Shabwah Governorate.Al-Haj, Ahmed (Associated Press), "Airstrike kills senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen ", Yahoo! News, May 7, 2012.
On August 29, 2012, a drone strike killed Salim bin Ali Jaber, Waleed, and three other people. In 2013, a relative of Salim and Waleed, Faisel bin Ali Jaber, met with officials linked to the White House. In 2015, a German court ruled against a case Faisal brought, citing that the German government had no mandate to take blame for American military actions. In 2017, an American court also dismissed a lawsuit brought on by Faisal.
On September 2, 2012, a drone strike killed 13 civilians.
2013 In 2013, 6 of the 26 strikes in Yemen, were carried out in Hadramout Governorate.