イエメン政府当局は12月12日（現地時間）、米軍の無人航空機が、結婚式へ向かう車列をミサイルで攻撃する事件が発生し、少なくとも13人が死亡したと発表した。
ロイター通信はイエメン警察当局の発言を引用し、結婚式の車列は、「アルカイダの車列と間違えられて」標的にされたと報じている。現地放送局の報道では、この事件で15人が死亡し、5人が負傷したという。
警察当局のある人物によると、「この攻撃によって、本来の標的ではない結婚式の車列が襲撃された。事件発生時に10人が死亡し、さらに5人が搬送先の病院で死亡した」という。
いっぽう、その後のAP通信の記事によれば、この車列には実際にアルカイダのメンバーがいたという情報もある。
この事件は、バイダ県の首都ラッダ市で発生したと現地当局は発表している。同市はアルカイダの活動拠点として知られている。
米国政府は、イエメンを拠点に活動する組織「アラビア半島のアルカイダ（AQAP）」について、現在世界で最も活発なテロ組織のひとつだと考えている。同組織が好戦的な活動を活発化させてきたことに伴い、米国は2011年以降、イエメンにおける無人航空機の出動回数を増加させている。
今年の12月5日には、AQAPのメンバーがイエメンの軍事基地を攻撃し、医者や看護士等を含む56名が死亡した（以下の動画：閲覧注意）。AQAPはこの攻撃について、同集団の指導者たちが何人も無人機で殺されてきたことへの報復だと主張していた。
AQAPは、アルカイダのサウジアラビア支部のメンバーが2009年、米軍およびサウジアラビア政府の攻撃・弾圧を避けて活動拠点をイエメンに移し、同国のアルカイダ支部のメンバーと合同して発足したテロ組織。イエメン国内に構成員を500-600人抱え、パキスタンとアフガニスタンを除くと最も有力なテロ組織になっている。
[Ryan Craggs（English） 日本語版：丸山佳伸/ガリレオ]
無人ロボット兵器・無人攻撃機・無人機 画像集
Navy Launches First Drone From Aircraft Carrier(01 of06)
Open Image ModalATLANTIC OCEAN - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator flies over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 14, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to sucessfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Navy Launches First Drone From Aircraft Carrier(02 of06)
Open Image ModalATLANTIC OCEAN - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy courtesy of Northrop Grumman, an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 14, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by Alan Radecki/U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Navy Launches First Drone From Aircraft Carrier(03 of06)
Open Image ModalATLANTIC OCEAN - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 14, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to sucessfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Navy Launches First Drone From Aircraft Carrier(04 of06)
Open Image ModalNAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, MD - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy courtesy of Northrop Grumman, the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator lands after completing the first launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle from an aircraft carrier May 14, 2013 at Naval Air Staion Patuxent River, Maryland. George H.W. Bush is the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Navy Launches First Drone From Aircraft Carrier(05 of06)
Open Image ModalATLANTIC OCEAN - MAY 14: In this handout released by the U.S. Navy, Sailors move an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator onto an aircraft elevator aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 14, 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean. George H.W. Bush is scheduled to be the first aircraft carrier to catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. The Navy plans to have unmanned aircraft on each of its carriers to be used for surveillance and be armed and used in combat roles. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
U.S. Air And Marine Predator Drones Launch For Missions Overlooking U.S.-Mexico Border(06 of06)
Open Image ModalSIERRA VISTA, AZ - MARCH 07: Maintenence personel check a Predator drone operated by U.S. Office of Air and Marine (OAM), before its surveillance flight near the Mexican border on March 7, 2013 from Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The OAM, which is part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, flies the unmanned - and unarmed - MQ-9 Predator B aircraft an average of 12 hours per day at around 19,000 feet over southern Arizona. The drones, piloted from the ground, search for drug smugglers and immigrants crossing illegally from Mexico into the United States. Due to federal sequestration cuts, Customs and Border Protection is expected to lose $500 million from its budget, and OAM staff at Ft. Huachuca are now taking unpaid furlough days once every two weeks. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)