Raid on Yakla

Raid on Yakla
	Part of Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
Date	28 January 2017
Location	Yemen Yakla region, Al Bayda Governorate;
Result	US strategic victory, AQAP propaganda victory
Belligerents
United States; United Arab Emirates	al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Commanders and leaders
	Abdul Rauf al-Dhahab †
Strength
	United States 40 special forces operatives; V-22 Osprey helicopters;
Casualties and losses
1 killed, 3 wounded, 1 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey destroyed	14 killed
	16-59 civilian casualties including women and children

On 28 January 2017 A United States led special forces operation carried out at Yakla, Al Bayda province in central Yemen during its Civil War, authorized personally by President Donald Trump^[1] it was one of the the first operations sanctioned by newly elected president administration.^[2]

Background

The United States has supported an ongoing Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in their campaign against Houthi militants with weapons and intelligence.^[3] The United States also has an ongoing campaign against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.^[3] The last US ground operation against AQAP in Yemen was in 2015.^[3] In 2016, US and Emirati troops sent Special Operations forces in Yemen to monitor AQAP.^[3]

The US military reported that the raid had been planned "for months" and is "one in a series of aggressive actions against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen."^[4] The Obama administration refused to approve the raid, exercising a "pocket veto" to reject it; the Guardian reported that it had been reviewed several times, citing an anonymous government source.^[5] In a report for the Washington Post, multiple defense sources stated they expected the Trump Administration to more readily approve similar operations.^[6]

The raid

At dawn on 28 January, US Navy Seal commandos as well as elite soldiers from the United Arab Emirates were dropped from helicopters near the home of Al-Qaeda leader, Abdul Rauf al-Dhahab, in the mountainous Yakla region in Al Bayda. While approaching, the soldiers were informed via a communications intercept that the Al-Qaeda forces had become aware of their position.^[7]

Aftermath

During the raid, one US Navy SEAL operative, Chief Petty Officer William Owens, was killed and three others were wounded. Fourteen al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters, including their commander, Abdul Rauf al-Dhahab, and an indeterminate number of civilians were killed. During the evacuation of the US soldiers, a US Marine Corps (USMC) Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was damaged in a hard landing and was destroyed by a friendly airstrike.^[8] One of the civilians that was killed, was the 8 years old daughter of former AQAP leader Anwar al-Awlaki. The grandfather of the 8-year-old girl, Nasser al-Awlaki, said that the SEALs entered another house and killed everybody in it, including all the women. AQAP later issued a statement acknowledging the raid, and mourned for their killed fighters, and referred to the raid as a massacre. They also stated that U.S. troops had fired on women and children in cold blood, and accused the SEALs of having no human values. Karen J. Greenberg, the director of Fordham University's Center on National Security, said that the girl's death will be used by al Qaeda propagandists.^[9]^[10]

References

^ Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^ "U.S. service member killed in first Trump terror raid".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Ryan, Missy (2017-01-31). "In deadly Yemen raid, a lesson for Trump team". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
^ Crook, Terri Moon (2017-01-30). "U.S. Raid in Yemen Garners Intelligence". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
^ 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 2017-02-02.
^ "'We expect an easier approval cycle [for operations] under this administration,' another defense official said." "'We really struggled with getting the White House comfortable with getting boots on the ground in Yemen,' the former official said, like others speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. 'Since the new administrations has come in, the approvals for what the Pentagon has appeared to have gone up.'" Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Ryan, Missy (2017-01-31). "In deadly Yemen raid, a lesson for Trump team". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
^ Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^ Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^ http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/seal-american-girl-die-first-trump-era-u-s-military-n714346
^ http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/yemen-raid-daughter-al-qaeda-leader/index.html

14°35′53″N 45°03′36″E / 14.598°N 45.060°E / 14.598; 45.060

[1] Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

[2] "U.S. service member killed in first Trump terror raid".

[:0-3] Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Ryan, Missy (2017-01-31). "In deadly Yemen raid, a lesson for Trump team". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2017-02-02.

[4] Crook, Terri Moon (2017-01-30). "U.S. Raid in Yemen Garners Intelligence". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Retrieved 2017-02-02.

[5] 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 2017-02-02.

[6] "'We expect an easier approval cycle [for operations] under this administration,' another defense official said." "'We really struggled with getting the White House comfortable with getting boots on the ground in Yemen,' the former official said, like others speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. 'Since the new administrations has come in, the approvals for what the Pentagon has appeared to have gone up.'" Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Ryan, Missy (2017-01-31). "In deadly Yemen raid, a lesson for Trump team". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2017-02-02.

[7] Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

[8] Eric, Schmitt; David E., Sanger (1 February 2017). "Questions Cloud U.S. Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen". New York Times. No. Web. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

[9] ttp://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/seal-american-girl-die-first-trump-era-u-s-military-n714346

[10] ttp://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/yemen-raid-daughter-al-qaeda-leader/index.html

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v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
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1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion
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1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Israel–Hamas war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis
This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.