Yemeni civilians likely killed in raid on Al Qaeda, says US military

The US Central Command (Centcom) said investigators had 'concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed' during Sunday's special forces operation and now want 'to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties'

A Yemeni man reads an online story about the US raid in Bayda at an internet cafe in Sanaa on January 30, 2017. Yahya Arhab / EPA

ABU DHABI // The US military is assessing the extent of civilian casualties during a raid on Al Qaeda allies in Yemen this week after initially claiming that only militants were killed.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said investigators had “concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed” during the special forces operation in a rural area of Bayda province on Sunday.

They now want “to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight”, said Centcom, which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East.

The US military said only 14 fighters allied to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap) were killed in the raid. But a local government official told The National more than 50 people were killed, including 16 women and children.

A medic at the scene told Reuters there were 10 women and children among the dead. One of them was the 8-year-old daughter of Aqap propagandist and leader Anwar Al Awlaki, who was killed in 2011 by a drone strike in Yemen.

The objective of the raid was to collect computers and items holding information on the terrorist group’s operations, and capture senior figures allied with Aqap. Among them was Abdulrauf Al Dhahab, who Yemeni officials said also fought Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

A raiding party comprised of several dozen US pecial forces somehow lost the element of surprise after landing a few miles from Yakla village. On reaching the village, the commandos found it to be more heavily fortified than expected, protected by landmines, snipers and heavily armed fighters.

Women in the village also shot at the troops, the US officials said, which may account for the number of Yemeni females killed.

The troops called in air strikes from planes and attack helicopters after encountering resistance. A US Osprey transport plane was sent from the USS Makin Island amphibious assault ship, anchored off Yemen, to evacuate the special forces casualties but it lost engine power and made a "hard landing", injuring three of the crew. A US air strike destroyed the $75 million (Dh275m) disabled aircraft.

The operation was the first authorised by president Donald Trump since he became commander-in-chief but US defence officials told Reuters it was approved without sufficient intelligence or preparation.

Mr Trump has said he wants to loosen military rules of engagement when fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL., giving lower-level officials in Yemen tactical authority so that operations, such as air and ground raids against Al Qaeda can be ordered more speedily. According to US officials, the Pentagon is drafting plans to that effect.

US counterterrorism capabilities in Yemen which were built up under Mr Obama suffered a setback when a special forces contingent working with the Yemeni military was forced to leave their base in 2015 following the outbreak of civil war between the Houthi rebels and their allies, and the internationally recognised government backed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Last year the US established a small special operations post on Yemen's southern coast, according to the Washington Post, that works with Emirati forces. The UAE has led its own operations against AQAP after working with Yemeni forces to push the group from the port city of Mukalla.