The al-Majalah camp attack also referred to as the al-Majalah massacre[1] occurred on December 17, 2009 when the United States military launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from a ship off the Yemeni coast on a Bedouin camp in the southern village of Al-Maʽjalah in Yemen, killing 14 alleged Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and 41 civilians,[2][3][4][5][6] including 14 women and 23 children.
| Al-Majalah camp attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen | |
| Type | Airstrike |
| Location | 13°58′19″N 46°27′43″E / 13.972°N 46.462°E |
| Target | AQAP (U.S. claim) |
| Date | 17 December 2009 |
| Executed by |  Joint Special Operations Command |
| Casualties | 55 (including 14 women and 21 children) killed |
  al-Majalah Location of al-Majalah within Yemen | |
The attack
editThe al-Majalah camp attack took place on December 17, 2009, when the United States launched cruise missiles at the site.[7][8] Initially, both the U.S. and Yemeni governments denied U.S. involvement in the strikes, despite accusations from Amnesty International.[9][10] Several months after the attack in Al Majalah, Amnesty International released photos showing an American cluster bomb and a propulsion unit from a Tomahawk cruise missile. A subsequent inquiry by the Yemeni parliament found that 14 Al Qaeda fighters had been killed, along with 41 civilians, including 23 children.[2]
A primary target in the attacks was Qasim al-Raymi, an al-Qaeda leader who is suspected of, or has taken credit for, several attacks that killed many civilians and has threatened more attacks on the United States. Al-Raymi was believed to be behind the 2007 Marib suicide car bombing, which killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemenis. However, al-Raymi survived the attack.[11]
In media
edit- Dirty Wars, a 2013 American documentary directed by Richard Rowley, and written by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker.
See also
edit- Abdulelah Haider Shaye, a prominent Yemeni journalist who was jailed after reporting on US involvement in the attack.
References
edit- ^ Scahill, Jeremy (2013-06-04). Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield Enhanced Edition for Nook. PublicAffairs. pp. 303–312. ISBN 9781568584843.
- ^ a b Filkins, Dexter (6 February 2013). "What We Don't Know About Drones". The New Yorker. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "US: Reassess Targeted Killings in Yemen". Human Rights Watch. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "Yemen drones strikes cause civilians to 'fear the US as much as al-Qaeda'". The Daily Telegraph. London. October 22, 2013.
- ^ Hugh MacLeod and Nasser Arrabyee (January 3, 2010). "Yemeni air attacks on al-Qaida fighters risk mobilising hostile tribes". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan (2009-12-18). "Yemen asserts 34 rebels killed in raid on Qaeda". The Washington Post. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ "Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists". Abcnews.go.com. December 18, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Spencer, Richard (7 June 2010). "US cluster bombs 'killed 35 women and children'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "Images of missile and cluster munitions point to US role in fatal attack in Yemen".
- ^ Hauslohner, Abigail (December 22, 2009). "Despite U.S. Aid, Yemen Faces Growing al-Qaeda Threat". Time. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009.