Raid on Yakla

Raid on Yakla
Part of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
and the War on Terror
Raid location.
Raid location.
Raid location
Raid location (Yemen)
Date29 January 2017
Location
Al-Ghayil, Wald Rabi' District, Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen
Result

Mission failure

  • Target not found[1]
  • White House and Defense Secretary claim the raid was a success and generated large amounts of vital intelligence[2]
  • Pentagon claims one terabyte of information on AQAP was captured[3]
  • Senior U.S. officials later claim raid produced no significant intelligence[1]
Belligerents
 United States
 United Arab Emirates

al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

  • al-Dhahab Tribesmen
Commanders and leaders
United States Donald Trump
United States James Mattis
United States Raymond A. Thomas
United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan		 Abdul Rauf al-Dhahab †
Sultan al-Dhahab  †
Seif al-Joufi †[4][5]
Abu Barazan[6]
Strength

 United States

 United Arab Emirates

  • Unknown number of commandos
 Unknown
Casualties and losses
1 killed
3 wounded
1 V-22 Osprey destroyed		 14 killed (U.S. estimate)
10[8]–30[9] civilian casualties (including at least 10 women and children, and 1 U.S. citizen)

The Raid on Yakla was a joint United States/United Arab Emirates military operation carried out on January 29, 2017 in al-Ghayil, a village in the Yakla area of the Al Bayda Governorate of central Yemen,[10][11] during the Yemeni civil war. Prepared by U.S. counterterrorism officials under President Barack Obama, the mission was ultimately authorized by President Donald Trump nine days into his presidency.[12] The mission's goal was to gather intelligence on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and to target the group's leader, Qasim al-Raymi.[7][13] The raid was led by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) with resources from U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as commandos from the United Arab Emirates Army.[7]

Between 10[8] and 30 civilians[9] (including Nawar al-Awlaki, the eight-year-old American daughter of the deceased al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki) were killed in the raid along with up to 14 al-Qaeda fighters, as well as American Navy SEAL William Owens.[14] A Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey was destroyed during the operation.[15]

The raid in Yemen was described as "risky from the start and costly in the end";[16] the "botched" operation raised questions about the choice to go forward with the raid "without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations".[17]

  1. ^ a b Hensch, Mark (02/27/17) Yemen SEAL raid yielded no significant intel: report. The Hill.
  2. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (March 2017). "With Nation Watching, Widow of Fallen SEAL Becomes a Face of Bravery". New York Times. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hundreds was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "US forces in Yemen have targeted the al-Dhahab family, but who are they?" Al Arabiya. January 31, 2017.
  5. ^ Roggio, Bill (February 3, 2017). "US military says AQAP leaders killed in Yemen raid - FDD's Long War Journal". FDD's Long War Journal.
  6. ^ "Yemen Times [ Offline ]". www.yementimes.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b c McFadden, Cynthia; Arkin, William M.; Connor, Tracy (February 7, 2017). "The deadly Navy SEAL raid in Yemen last week had a secret target". NBC News.
  8. ^ a b "Yemeni civilians killed in first US raid under Trump: At least 10 women and children killed in operation targeting al-Qaeda in southern province of al-Bayda, medics say". www.aljazeera.com. 2017-01-30. Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  9. ^ a b Osborne, Samuel (2 March 2017). "Raid authorised by Trump that killed 31 people produced no valuable intelligence, officials say". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-01-21. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRWCivilians was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Wadi Yakla, Yemen Area Map". iTouchMap. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  12. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Sanger, David E. (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  13. ^ Sanger, David E.; Schmitt, Eric (February 7, 2017). "Yemen Withdraws Permit for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  14. ^ Ackerman, Spencer; Burke, Jason; Borger, Julian (2017-02-01). "Eight-year-old American girl 'killed in Yemen raid approved by Trump'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  15. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Sanger, David E. (1 February 2017). "Raid in Yemen: Risky From the Start and Costly in the End". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  16. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Sanger, David E. (2017-02-01). "Raid in Yemen: Risky From the Start and Costly in the End". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  17. ^ MacAskill, Ewen; Ackerman, Spencer; Burke, Jason (2017-02-02). "Questions mount over botched Yemen raid approved by Trump". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-09.