{"slug":"yakla-yemen-raid-civilian-massacre","title":"Yakla Raid: Trump's First Military Operation Kills Civilians and a U.S. Navy SEAL","date":"2017-01-29","lastUpdated":"2017-02-28","description":"On January 29, 2017 — nine days into the Trump presidency — U.S. Special Operations forces launched a raid on a suspected Al-Qaeda compound in Yakla, Yemen. The raid killed a U.S. Navy SEAL (Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens), wounded three other American service members, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 23–30 civilians, including eight children. Trump had approved the operation over dinner without the customary NSC deliberations.","summary":"The Yakla raid was authorized by Trump without the standard national security review process. The operation went wrong from the start: intelligence may have been compromised, the element of surprise was lost, and the ensuing firefight resulted in the deaths of a U.S. service member, three wounded Americans, and an estimated 23–30 Yemeni civilians including at least 8 children. Among the civilians killed was 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen — the daughter of cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been killed in a 2011 Obama-era drone strike.","category":"extrajudicial-killing","severity":"extreme","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/world/middleeast/navy-seal-ryan-owens-yemen-trump.html","title":"How a Navy SEAL Died in Yemen: Trump's First Military Raid Had Fatal Complications","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/01/trump-botched-yemen-raid-we-know-more-about-how-it-went-wrong","title":"Trump's botched Yemen raid: what we know about how it went wrong","publisher":"The Guardian"},{"url":"https://www.propublica.org/article/the-real-story-of-the-trump-attack-that-killed-an-eight-year-old-american-girl","title":"The Real Story of the Trump Attack That Killed an Eight-Year-Old American Girl","publisher":"ProPublica"},{"url":"https://airwars.org/conflict/us-in-yemen/","title":"US military operations in Yemen — civilian casualty tracking","publisher":"Airwars"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/us/politics/trump-raid-yemen-seal.html","title":"Trump and Senior Officials Defend Yemen Raid as Criticism Mounts","publisher":"The New York Times"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Yemen","civilian-casualties","military-operation","SEAL-team","first-term","extrajudicial-killing","Nawar-al-Awlaki"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-01-25","title":"Trump approves raid over dinner at Mar-a-Lago","summary":"Trump approves the special operations raid on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula targets in Yakla, Yemen, over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The operation had been planned during the Obama administration but held pending a full NSC review; Trump approved it without convening the formal review."},{"date":"2017-01-29","title":"Raid launched; turns deadly","summary":"U.S. Navy SEALs and allied Yemeni forces begin the raid. The element of surprise appears to have been lost; fighters were prepared and waiting. Chief Petty Officer Ryan Owens is killed in the ensuing firefight. Three other Americans are wounded. A V-22 Osprey crashes during the evacuation."},{"date":"2017-01-29","title":"Civilians killed, including children","summary":"During the raid, as many as 23–30 civilians are killed, including at least 8 children. Among the dead is 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, who dies of a gunshot wound. She reportedly bled for two hours before dying."},{"date":"2017-02-01","title":"Trump calls raid 'a great success'","summary":"Trump defends the operation as highly successful and says those calling it a failure are wrong. He does not publicly address the civilian casualties."},{"date":"2017-02-08","title":"Ryan Owens's father refuses to meet Trump at Dover","summary":"Bill Owens refuses to meet with Trump when his son's body is flown to Dover Air Force Base. In an interview, he says: 'Why did my son die? I want an investigation. The government owes my son an investigation.' He expresses doubt about whether the raid was properly authorized."},{"date":"2017-02-28","title":"Trump invokes Owens's widow at joint congressional address","summary":"Trump delivers a nationally-televised joint address to Congress in which he invokes Owens's widow Carryn, who is seated in the gallery, for an extended standing ovation. Critics describe the moment as using her grief for political purposes while the raid's failures remained under scrutiny."}],"location":{"name":"Yakla, Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen","lat":14.2,"lng":45.7},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Geneva Convention IV","article":"Articles 27-34","provision":"Protection of civilians in armed conflict — civilians must be protected from violence, and precautions must be taken to avoid civilian casualties"},{"statute":"Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions","article":"Article 57","provision":"Precautions in attack — those who plan attacks must take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties and cancel attacks if expected civilian harm is excessive"}],"iccRelevance":false,"civilianCasualties":25,"victims":"Approximately 23–30 Yemeni civilians killed, including at least 8 children; Nawar al-Awlaki (8, U.S. citizen); Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens (U.S. Navy SEAL, killed in action)","structuredVictims":[{"name":"Nawar al-Awlaki","group":"Civilian child, U.S. citizen","status":"Killed; age 8"},{"group":"Yemeni civilians","status":"Approximately 23–30 killed, including at least 8 children","count":25}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Authorized the operation; President of the United States","institution":"White House"},{"name":"James Mattis","role":"Secretary of Defense","institution":"Department of Defense"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2017-02-28","summary":"Updated with congressional address and ongoing controversy."}]}}