UN to assess US, UK and Israel drone strikes

The UN will be investigating drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and the Palestinian territories. Heading the inquiry is Ben Emmerson QC, a UN special rapporteur. He has stated that approximately 25 strikes representative of different types will be analyzed. The investigation will assess the extent of civilian casualties, the legality of the strikes in countries the UN has not “formally recognized there is a conflict” and the identity of those targeted. One of the concerns is that, considering local demographics, is the risk of a “disproportionate number of civilian casualties” too great. The inquiry will report to the UN General Assembly in the autumn of 2013.

Source:  guardian.co.uk  1/23/2013

Al-Qaida offers gold bounty for killing US Ambassador in Yemen

Al-Qaeda’s media organization, al-Malahem Foundation, has announced a bounty of 3 kg of gold (worth approximately US $160,000) to anyone who kills the US ambassador to Yemen.  Additionally, it is offering 5 million Yemeni Riyal (US $23,000) for killing any US soldier in Yemen. The statement said the offer is valid for 6 months.

Several militants in Yemen reportedly have been killed by US drone strikes in the last week.  According to Yemeni officials, the bounty offer comes one day after a US drone strike in the al-Bayda province in which a senior al-Qaeda operative, Saleh Mohammed al-Ameri, was killed.

Due to the secrecy of the US’s drone strikes, the exact number of drone strikes that have occurred is unclear. However, according to the website, Long War Journal, the US has had 59 airstrikes in Yemen since 2002 — 42 of those this year. The website also is reporting that around 300 militants have been killed as well as over 80 civilians during that time period.

Sources:  RT.com and longwarjournal.org 12/30/2012