[7][8] The raid started when U.S. Navy SEALs from DEVGRU, airlifted by helicopter to the central province of Marib, with the support of Yemeni authorities, attacked a compound on a residential block held by al-Qaeda fighters in the village of Al-Hathla.

According to US officials, US forces killed seven AQAP militants through a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes.

[1][2][9][10] According to reports in tribal and local Yemeni news websites and sources, at least thirty US soldiers, aided by Yemeni government soldiers, were deployed in the rural area of Al Hathla in the early hours of the day, and engaged in a gun battle with fighters from two prominent tribes in the village, Al-Moradi and Al-Aadhali.

The reports added that no AQAP fighters had been in the area when three Boeing AH-64 Apache, and two Military transport aircraft of the US approached the village.

US officials said that the aim of the raid was to seize potentially important information from the compound—typically electronic devices such as computers, hard drives and cellphones—and was not an attempt to kill or capture a particular individual.

The Pentagon would not provide specifics on the number of troops wounded or the types of injuries incurred, citing privacy concerns and not wanting to immediately broadcast a battle damage assessment to enemy forces in the region.

15-year-old Abdullah Saeed Salem al Adhal was shot dead as he fled from his home with women and other children.