Sanaa funeral hall attack

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(No burnt bodies or broken off limbs in this photo)
Weapons not allowed inside the funeral hall
Holes left by the bombs as seen from above
Picture made by police officer friend of known Sanaa resident twitter user Ammar Aulaqi (@ammar82) in the aftermath of the bombing. A comment by Yemen-based journalist Iona Craig states that the serial number leads to Raytheon as producer of the bomb.
U.S. Navy crewmen loading Mk 82 bombs with Paveway II guidance kits (GBU-12) onto an F-14. Note the fins with similar markings as the piece found in Yemen.
Another fragment
Some high-ranking officers of the Yemeni army and members of the Houti-aligned government killed in the attack

Sources

  • Hundreds hurt in air strike on Sanaa mourners: Yemen health ministry - Reuters, October 8, 2016 (Original article now replaced by this)
    "The number of casualties from the air force of the Saudi-American aggression at the main hall in the capital Sanaa has risen to more than 450 dead and wounded," the Houthi-run Saba news agency quoted Abdul-Salam al-Madani, a deputy to the health minister, as saying.
  • Saudi-led airstrike reportedly hits funeral in Yemeni capital Sanaa, 45 killed & hundreds injured - RT, October 8, 2016
    According to the news agency, a medic said that he saw “mutilated and charred bodies,” adding that the funeral was being held for the deceased father of the Houthi rebels’ Interior Minister. Military and security officials from the rebel movement are among the victims, according to the outlet.
  • Yemen rebels say 'dozens' killed or wounded in Sanaa air raids - AFP, France24, October 8, 2016
  • Yemen rebels say 'dozens' killed in Sanaa air raids on funeral - AFP (updated), Daily Mail, October 8, 2016
    The insurgent-controlled news site sabanews.net said that coalition planes hit a building in southern Sanaa where hundreds had gathered to mourn the death of the father of a prominent local official. The Huthis did not say if the official -- rebel interior minister Jalal al-Rowaishan -- was present in the building at the time of the attack which they dubbed a "massacre" nor did they indicate if other senior figures were attending the funeral. Rebel Almasirah television said Sanaa mayor Abdel Qader Hilal was among those killed.
  • Yemen: Blasts kill '90 people' at Sanaa funeral - Al-Jazeera, October 8, 2016
    Funeral reception, attended by military and intelligence officials of Houthi led-government, targeted in Sanaa.
    However, sources in the alliance denied that there was an Arab coalition role in the strikes.
    "Absolutely no such operation took place at that target," one of the sources told Reuters news agency, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.
    coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they) never been a subject of targets."
  • Yemen Rebels Say ‘Dozens’ Killed or Wounded in Sanaa Air Raids - National Yemen, October 8, 2016
    Rebels in control of Yemen’s capital accused the Saudi-led coalition fighting them of killing or wounding dozens of people in air strikes on Sanaa on Saturday.
  • Yemen funeral hall attack 'kills 82' - BBC News, October 8, 2016
    Graphic photos circulating on social media show charred and mutilated bodies.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had prepared 300 body bags. The ICRC's Rima Kamal told the BBC "several air strikes" had hit the venue where hundreds of civilians had been present.
    A number of Houthi rebel military and security officials are believed to have been killed in the strike. BBC correspondents say their presence could explain why the funeral was targeted, though it is likely many civilians were also there.
  • Bombing of Sanaa, (bodies pics-hidden under a link; and a brief attack video), Cassad, October 8, 2016
  • Says 140 Killed, Hundreeds Wounded (Video, Photos) - SouthFront, October 9, 2016
    At least nine air strikes were made on Khamis street in the southern part of Sana’a, excluding the fact that the incident could be described as a mistake. Pro-Houthi sources say that Saudi Arabia massivelly bombs Yemeni civilian objects in order to “counter” constant loses on the ground and de-facto failure of the intervention into the country.

Twitter

  • Yemen Post Newspaper ‏@YemenPostNews on Twitter:
    • 4:12 PM #Breaking Funeral MASSACRE: 40 civilians killed & injured when 4 Saudi airstrikes attacked funeral home in #Yemen capital #Sanaa.
    • 4:42 PM #Breaking Pics: Funeral Hall ATTACK: At least 75 civilians killed & injured when Saudi airstrikes attacked funeral hall in #Yemen capital.
    • 5:13 PM #Breaking BLOODIEST Attack: 300+ civilians killed & injured by 4 Saudi airstrike attacks on funeral hall in #Yemen capital #Sanaa.
    • 6:01 PM #Breaking Pics Rescuers ATTACKED: 320 civilians killed & injured by Saudi airstrike attack on funeral hall in #Yemen capital #Sanaa.
    • 6:52 PM #Breaking DEADLIEST Day: 155+ civilians killed & 320 injured by Saudi airstrikes on Funeral Hall in #Yemen capital #Sanaa.
    • 8:25 PM #Breaking DEATH TOLL Rises: 720 civilians killed & injured today when 4 Saudi airstrikes attacked funeral hall in #Yemen capital #Sanaa.
    • 11:07 PM #Breaking Day of MASSACRES: 405 civilians killed & 320 injured in #Yemen today by Saudi airstrikes & missiles attacking capital #Sanaa

Sabanews

Video

Videos of the actual attack (second strike):

Saudi denials

  • :'No coalition air role in Sanaa incident-coalition sources - Reuters, October 8, 2016
    "Absolutely no such operation took place at that target," one of the sources said, citing what he described as confirmation from the coalition air force command.
    "The coalition is aware of such reports and is certain that it is possible that other causes of bombing are to be considered. The coalition has in the past avoided such gatherings and (they) never been a subject of targets."
  • Yemen: Arab coalition to probe Sanaa funeral attack - Al-Jazeera, October 9, 2016
  • Airstrike kills more than 100, injures hundreds at Yemen funeral - Ali Al-Mujahed and Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, October 9, 2016
    The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite network, citing Saudi military sources, said the coalition did not stage the airstrike on the hall. But Saudi Arabia’s military have previously denied strikes on hospitals and other civilian areas that were later proved to have occurred.
  • Haykal Bafana ‏@BaFana3 on Twitter, October 10, 2016
    Spent an evening scanning Saudi channels. Amazing - "Yemen Sanaa funeral hall was a ballistic missile attack by Ali Abdullah Saleh."
  • Yemen conflict: 'Saudi-led coalition plane' hit funeral - Frank Gardner, BBC News, October 10, 2016
    Saudi Arabia has privately accepted that one of its coalition planes bombed a funeral in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, the BBC has learned.

ISIS claims responsibility

  • Nasser Atta @nasseratta5 on Twitter, October 9, 2016
    #ISIS statement:"one of our hero carried out the suicide attack in #Sanaa" that killed155, Very clear it's an air strike on the funeral hall

US role?

Saudi investigation: Ok, we did it, but...

CAIRO (AP) — An investigation team with the Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday that wrong information led to the lethal bombing of a packed funeral in the Yemeni capital Sanaa last weekend, which killed around 140 people and wounded more than 600.

The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) accused "a party affiliated to the Yemeni Presidency of the General Chief of Staff" of passing wrong information that the hall was packed with Houthi leaders, whom the coalition has been targeting since their militias swept the capital last year and forced Yemen's internationally-recognized government into exile in Riyadh.

It added that the party insisted the location was "a legitimate military target," the statement written in English said. It also said the Air Operation Center in Yemen directed a "close air support mission" to target the site without getting approval from the coalition's command. The committee said compensation must be offered to the victims' families.

Casualties?

  • Says 140 Killed, Hundreeds Wounded (Video, Photos) - SouthFront, October 9, 2016
    Meanwhile, non-UN sources report that the casualties from the bombing have already grown to 450 killed. Some sources even say that the numbe is up to 700. There are no doubts that the officially confirmed number of casualties will rise

Motive: revenge?

  • Yemen's top pro-government military commander killed - BreakingNewsLive.net, October 8, 2016
    Yemen's dominant Shiite Houthi rebels said Saturday that they have killed a top commander in pro-government forces in Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported.
    "Major-General Abdel-Rab al-Shadadi, commander of Third Military Region in Marib, was killed late on Friday in a unique military operation after artillery unit pinpointed his location," Saba quoted a statement by Houthi military source as saying. Al-Shadadi had led forces loyal to internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the rebel Houthis and their allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since the civil war broke out in 2015. Hadi's government admitted the loss of al-Shadadi in a statement.
  • Airstrikes 'kill dozens' in Yemeni capital Sanaa - Houthi government official - DW, October 8, 2016
    Also on Saturday, Yemen's army announced the death of its most senior commander to be killed this year. Major-General Abdul-Rab al-Shadadi was killed while leading an offensive against the Houthis east of the capital on Friday.

Yemen hits King Fahd airbase in Taif

Video