The US military on Wednesday said it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid against al-Qaeda in Yemen over the weekend, in the first operation authorized by US President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
US Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens was killed in the raid against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in al-Bayda Governorate, which the Pentagon said also killed 14 militants.
However, medics at the scene said about 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that an investigating team had “concluded regrettably that civilian noncombatants were likely killed” during Sunday’s raid.
It said children might have been among the casualties.
CENTCOM said its assessment “seeks to determine if there were any still undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight.”
US military officials told reporters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.
As a result, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al-Qaeda base defended by land mines, snipers and a larger-than-expected contingent of heavily armed Muslim extremists, three officials said.
The Pentagon directed queries about the officials’ characterization of the raid to CENTCOM, which pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.
“CENTCOM asks for operations we believe have a good chance for success and when we ask for authorization we certainly believe there is a chance of successful operations based on our planning,” CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.
The officials said the extremists’ base had been identified as a target before the administration of former US president Barack Obama left office on Jan. 20, but Obama held off approving a raid ahead of his departure.
A White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and that the previous defense secretary had signed off on it last month.
The raid was delayed for operational reasons, the White House official said.
The military officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said “a brutal firefight” killed Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children.
One of the dead was the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a militant killed by a 2011 US drone strike.
Some of the women were firing at the US troops, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
The US elite troops did not seize any militants or take any prisoners off-site, but White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Wednesday said the raid yielded benefits.
“Knowing that we killed an estimated 14 AQAP members and that we gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil — is something that I think most service members understand, that that’s why they joined the service,” Spicer said.
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