Small Wars Journal

Hidden Toll of US Drone Strikes in Yemen: Nearly a Third of Deaths are Civilians, Not al-Qaida

Thu, 11/15/2018 - 4:40am

Hidden Toll of US Drone Strikes in Yemen: Nearly a Third of Deaths are Civilians, Not al-Qaida by Maggie Michael and Maad al-Zikry – Associated Press

The United States has waged a drone war in Yemen for 16 years, trying to suppress al-Qaida’s branch here. But the campaign has had a hidden cost: civilians cut down by the drones' missiles.

There is no comprehensive count of civilian deaths because of the difficulty of confirming identities and allegiances of those killed. But in an examination of drone strikes this year alone, The Associated Press found that at least 30 of the dead likely did not belong to al-Qaida.

That is around a third of all those killed in drone strikes so far in 2018.

The Pentagon does not release its assessment of the death toll, but an independent database considered one of the most credible in tracking violence in Yemen counted 88 people - militants and non-militants - killed by drones this year…

Read on.