Bombing houses in Al-Libi residential neighborhood of Sanaa

• Incident: Bombing houses in Sanaa
• Type: Air strikes
• Location: Al-Libi residential neighborhood, Maeen District, northwest of governorate of Amanat Al-Asemah
• Date: 17 January 2022
• Time: Between 21:14 and 21:28 local time
• Physical losses: Total destruction of two houses, partial - destruction of three other houses and two annexes.
• Munitions: Unknown, fired from F-15 and F-16 fighter planes
• Responsibility for the bombing: Possibly the Saudi-led Arab Coalition

Yemeni Archive investigated an incident of a bombing of houses in the Al-Libi residential neighborhood of Sanaa more than two years after it occurred, based on the methodology below.

Methodology

• Collecting, preserving, and analyzing 73 videos, photos, and reports, published on social media platforms, providing information about the type of attack, the target and the parties that claimed responsibility for the attack.
• Finding the location of the impact based on the information available about the targeted area in reports related to the incident, the written description of the area, and the landmarks that appeared in the visual content of the residential neighborhood and matching them with satellite images.
• Finding the time of the attack by examining the timestamps of the first reports from residents that indicated planes overhead and bombings, and the time information specified by social media users in their reports about the incident.
• Verifying the nature of the damaged site by examining the visual content related to the incident, and examining the names, type, ages, and kinship links between the victims of the bombing, which were mentioned online.

About the area

Al-Libi residential neighborhood is located in Maeen District, northwest of the governorate of Amanat Al-Asemah, along the main 60th Street, and about 2 km north of Sanaa University. There are educational and medical facilities next to the neighborhood.

What happened

The Saudi News Agency Facebook account published a post with several statements made by the Saudi led Coalition after a bombing campaign in Sanaa. The post was made specifically at 23:32 on 17 January 2022 according to the timestamp of the post as it appears in the Timestamp tool. The agency stated that the Coalition is conducting air operations for 24 hours above Sanaa, and that “Hostile attacks on civilians in the Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] and the UAE will be held accountable.” The agency reported in the post that the Coalition, in response to a threat, will implement an extensive deterrence operation to neutralize the sources of the threat.

A screenshot of the official Saudi Press Agency Facebook page post at 23:32 pm, 17 January 2022, with several statements from the Saudi-led Arab Coalition confirming a Coalition military air operation in Sanaa in response to a threat and hostile attacks on civilians in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot from Timestamp showing the time of the Saudi Press Agency’s Facebook page post according to Yemeni local time, indicating a post time of 23:32 on 17 January 2022.

That afternoon, sources published visual content showing a fire breaking out at oil sites in the Musaffah area of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates News Agency reported that the fire resulted in the explosion of three petroleum fuel tankers, and said that the accident claimed the lives of 3 civilians and injured 6 others of different nationalities.

At 12:19 the account of Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the official spokesman for the Houthi forces, said that an “important statement by the armed forces” will be published hours later “to announce a qualitative military operation deep inside the UAE.”

A screenshot of a tweet by Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the official spokesman for the Houthi forces, at 12:19 on 17 January 2022, in which he said that an “important statement by the armed forces” will be published hours later “to announce a qualitative military operation deep inside the UAE.” The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in a statement what it called the terrorist operation at Abu Dhabi Airport in the Emirates, which it claimed the Houthis were behind. At 16:26 on the same day, the Saudi News Agency X (formerly known as Twitter) account (Twitter, formerly) reported, citing information from the Coalition, that it had intercepted and destroyed a total of 8 drones launched towards Saudi Arabia.

At 20:39, Brigadier General Yahya Saree account tweeted saying that the armed forces’ statement would be at 09:30 at night, that is, in less than an hour. Minutes before the statement, social media users published information indicating that there was an intense flight of the Coalition aircraft in the skies of Sanaa, followed by reports of air strikes on sites in Sanaa.

A screenshot of a tweet by Ahmed Jahaf’s X account at 21:19, 17 January 2022, in which he indicated that there were Coalition aircraft over Sanaa, stating the time as at 21:15. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

On the night of 17 January 2022, social media users and news websites published reports of air strikes by the Coalition on areas in the capital Sanaa, specifically bombing Al-Libi residential neighborhood in Maeen District, resulting in reported civilian deaths and injuries.

A screenshot of a tweet by Al-Masirah Urgent account at 21:46 on 17 January 2022, which reported that Coalition aircraft had targeted the capital, Sanaa, and continued flying overhead. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

Screenshot of a tweet by the official Saudi News X account at 21:54, 17 January 2022, stating that the Coalition was carrying out air strikes on Sanaa. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot of a post by WeenAlEnfigarAlaan Facebook page at 21:28 on 17 January 2022, the post indicates that there were two raids on Sanaa, towards the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot of a tweet by Al-Masirah Urgent account on X at 22:41 on 17 January 2022, reporting that deaths and injuries were caused by the bombing of Al-Libi neighborhood in Maeen District. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

On the same night, Al-Masirah Urgent published information saying that there had been “major damage to five residential homes in Al-Libi city” because of air strikes.

A screenshot of a tweet by Al-Masirah Urgent account on X at 23:40 on 17 January 2022, indicating damage to five residential houses in Al-Libi city following air strikes on Sanaa. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

On 18 January, at 00:46, Ansar Allah Media Center posted a video on YouTube showing night scenes of destroyed houses and vehicles, with a large group of people and Red Crescent members searching through the rubble for victims.

Some night shots of the houses in the previous video match other shots from a daytime video that the Media Center also posted on its YouTube channel the morning after the bombing, showing the search for victims among the rubble using digging and rubble removal mechanisms.

A night shot from Ansar Allah Media Center video on YouTube at 00:46 on 18 January 2022, showing some distinctive features of the facade of one of the damaged houses at the bombing site and some nearby trees. White line: The facade of a building with a longitudinal appendage on the right side. Blue lines: longitudinal window openings on the building facade. Green lines: Green bushes in front of the building. Illustrations were created in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A daytime shot from another video by the Ansar Allah media center posted on YouTube at 15:49, 18 January 2022, showing that the distinctive features of the facade of one of the damaged buildings at the bombing site and some nearby trees match those in the night video. White lines: The facade of a building with a longitudinal appendage on the right side. Blue lines: longitudinal window openings on the building facade. Green lines: Green bushes in front of the building. Illustrations were created in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

Night shot from Ansar Allah media center video posted on YouTube at 00:46 on 18 January, 2022, showing part of a building that was damaged, where the destruction in an upper wall traced a stepped shape on top of an exposed facade showing one of the concrete columns, which matches those in the video taken during the daytime published at 15:49 on 18 January 2022. White rectangle: The stepped shape at the top of the facade resulting from the destruction of the upper wall of the building. Illustrations were created in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

After the news of the bombing circulated, WeenAlEnfigarAlaan Facebook page said at 23:21 that the air strikes killed people including Brigadier General Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid, former director of the Aviation College, claiming his house was targeted in Al-Libi neighborhood. An hour and 20 minutes earlier, the government Saudi News account published a news story quoting the Coalition, saying, “Terrorist leaders were targeted north of Sanaa.”

A screenshot of a post by WeenAlEnfigarAlaan Facebook page at 23:21 on 17 January 2022, reporting that Brigadier General Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid, former director of the Aviation College, was killed after his house was targeted in Al-Libi neighborhood by air strikes. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot of a tweet by the official Saudi News account on X, coinciding with the news that a military brigadier general was killed in his house in the Al-Libi neighborhood as a result of the strikes. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

Time

Ahmed Jahaf’s account on X reported planes overhead at 21:15. This time matches the time stated by Abu Sami Al-Hamdani’s Facebook post, which said that there was an intense flight over Sanaa, and said “now.” The first report of the flights was about a minute earlier in a tweet from Nakal X account in which he said that warplanes were heading towards Sanaa.

A screenshot of the first report on X of warplanes flying towards Sanaa, published by Nakal X account at 21:14, 17 January 2022. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot of another report about flights over Sanaa, published on Facebook at 21:15, 17 January 2022, by Abu Sami Al-Hamdani Facebook account. The time of publishing the post is identical to what Ahmed Jahaf wrote down in his tweet in X. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

Anwar Twfik’s tweet in X set the time for the first strike on Sanaa at 21:19, and five minutes later at 21:24, the editor-in-chief of Al-Wahdawi newspaper in Sanaa, Mahmoud Sharaf al-Din, indicated in his X account that there was another violent strike that shook the capital, Sanaa.

A screenshot of a tweet by Anwar Twfik at 21:19, 17 January 2022, in which he said that the first raid on Sanaa had occurred, specifying the time as “now”, and wrote the time as “9:19” in the tweet. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

A screenshot of a tweet by Mahmoud Sharaf aldin at 21:24, 17 January 2022, in which he alerted of another strike bombing Sanaa. The time difference between Mahmoud Sharaf aldin’s post and Anwar Twfik’s post of two different strikes is estimated at five minutes. The screenshot was taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

At 21:28, WeenAlEnfigarAlaan Facebook page said that there was information pointing to two airstrikes targeting the Division’s headquarters and camp in Sanaa. This matches tweets that refer to only two strikes hitting the area. Based on the information reviewed above, it is likely that the time of the bombing on Al-Libi neighborhood occurred between 21:14 and 21:28 on 17 January 2022. This is supported by night-time visual content related to the attack published shortly after the bombing.

Screenshots of a post by WeenAlEnfigarAlaan Facebook page at 21:28, 17 January 2022, and of analysis of the timestamp of the post using Timestamp showing that there were two air strikes towards the Division. The time of the post shows the end of air strikes on Sanaa near the 1st Armored Division. Screenshots were taken in May 2023 by Yemeni Archive.

Impact site

A significant amount of visual content was published documenting the impact site during the day and at night.Content was published days after the bombing showing the ongoing search and recovery operations for victims. Additionally, written information posted on the night of the bombing mentioned the names of civilian and military sites close to the impact site, as Faisal Modhesh reported on X that there were casualties as a result of two strikes next to a garden. September 21, Azal Hospital in Sanaa.

A screenshot of Faisal Modhesh tweet at 22:21 on 17 January 2022, in which he said that the location of the two strikes is near September 21 Park (The new name for the headquarters of the First Armored Division) and next to Azal Hospital in Sanaa.

Other sources, including the WeenAlEnfigarAlaan and Ahmed Almedan Facebook accounts, indicated that the bombing targeted the former First Armored Division. Almedan published photos of the moment the smoke of the strikes rose, some of which match others published by accounts on social media that showed distinct visual features. September 21 Park is an idea for a project that will be built on the site of the First Armored Division. The hospital and the Division headquarters are located close to each other.

Google Earth satellite image taken in August 2022. The white shadowed area indicates the area of the former 1st Armored Division headquarters and camp (September 21 Park). Blue shadowed area indicates the location of Azal Hospital.

Social media users published photos taken at night of the moment the smoke of the strikes rose. A hill on which the slogan “At your service, O Messenger of God” is written appears from different angles. It appears in two photos published by Hafez al-Yamani, and Ramzi Al-Marrani on Facebook from two nearby locations.

A satellite image from Google Earth taken in March 2022 shows the phrase “At your service, O Messenger of God” written on a low hill near the headquarters of the First Armored Division and Azal Hospital, as it appeared in images that showed smoke rising after the strikes behind the hill published by Hafez al-Yamani, and Ramzi Al-Marrani the evening of 17 January 2022.

The previous images show that the bombing was completely behind the hill. By comparing the distinctive features that appeared in Ansar Allah Media Center’s visual content of the damaged houses and their surroundings with satellite images in the area behind the hill, and next to the sites named by the sources, it is clear that the bombing occurred on houses at the coordinates: 15.383448, 44.177206 in Al-Libi neighborhood of Maeen District, north of the capital Sanaa. Google Earth historical satellite imagery from before and after the bombing show the impact of destruction at the site.

A Google Earth satellite image of Al-Libi residential neighborhood taken in February 2022. The landmarks match those that appeared in Ansar Allah media center video of the impact site published on the evening of 18 January 2022. The minaret of a mosque is visible to the left of the houses next to a large white building in front of a building with distinctive domes on the right.

Google Earth satellite image taken in January 2022, before the reported date of bombing, showing the buildings still intact.

A Google Earth satellite image taken in February 2022, after the reported date of bombing, showing a destroyed building and half of the remaining house next door with traces of rubble.

Munition

The visual content related to the incident found by Yemeni Archive did not show remnants or parts of munitions that would help identify the munitions used in this attack.

The Coalition air forces taking part in the bombing used F-15 planes owned by Saudi Arabia and F-16 planes owned by the UAE, according to what the Saudi Press Agency reported in a Facebook post. The agency also said, citing the Coalition, that the attack aircraft were preparing for a joint operation and identified that among the priorities were those it described as “terrorist leaders.”

A screenshot of the Saudi Press Agency’s Facebook post published on the evening of 17 January 2022, after the bombing of Al-Libi neighborhood. The agency quoted statements from the Coalition saying that F-16 and F-15 attack planes were used in the operation on Sanaa, which are planes owned by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Responsibility for the bombing

The Saudi led Arab Coalition acknowledged its responsibility for the attack, using Saudi and Emirati aircraft to target what it described as terrorist leaders north of Sanaa in the military operation that came in response to the bombing of vital sites in the Emirates and an attempt to bomb sites inside Saudi Arabia.

A screenshot of a tweet by the official Saudi News account at 21:57 on 17 January 2022, citing the Coalition statement acknowledging its responsibility for targeting leaders in northern Sanaa.

Nature of the impacted site

Al-Hadath TV said in a Facebook post on the night of the incident that the bombing targeted a meeting of leadership affiliated with the Houthis who were in the house of Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Junaid, who was killed in the attack. Most sources agree that the location was the house of the Brigadier General and his family. Visual content of the rubble and furniture scattered in the place show equipment for people with disabilities and children.

A screenshot from Al-Masirah TV video published on 20 January 2022, that is, three days after the bombing, in which it reported the events of a press conference from the site of the damaged houses. The video showed a baby feeding bottle that was under the rubble.

A screenshot from the video of Ansar Allah media center published on 18 January 2022. In the night visual content circulated about 4 hours after the attack, a wheelchair appeared among the rubble of damaged homes.

The list of victims announced in a press conference from the site of the bombing, and published by Al Masirah TV, confirms that most of the victims were family members of Brigadier General Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid and were from families residing in neighboring houses. There were no names of military leaders that could be independently verified. According to official Houthi sources, the Brigadier General was the director of the College of Aviation and Air Defense, and according to news published less than a month before the bombing.

A screenshot from a report by the official Houthi-run Yemeni news agency Saba, published on 22 December 2021, less than 30 days before the bombing, in which it covered Brigadier General Abdullah Al-Junaid’s visit to a cemetery in Sanaa and included his military status as Director of Aviation and Air Defense.

Physical damage

Estimates of the damage to houses varied in the information claimed by sources loyal to the Houthis, as preliminary information stated that five houses were severely damaged by the bombing. The government agencies indicated in a press conference published by Al-Masirah TV that five residential houses were completely destroyed, which was confirmed by a report published by the Yemeni news agency Saba.

Visual content from days following the incident showed the destroyed houses in the impacted neighborhood. Ansar Allah Media Center content shows two houses subjected to a direct hit, causing one of them to collapse completely with half of the other house, while three large houses were partially damaged, and two annexes were damaged. Several vehicles and a motorcycle were also damaged.

Screenshots from Ansar Allah media center video posted on the evening of 18 January 2022, showing the destroyed houses. Red: completely destroyed houses; blue: damaged annexes; and orange: partially damaged houses.

According to satellite images taken from Google Earth months after the incident, specifically in June 2022, two houses were completely demolished, while their two annexes and other houses were left untouched.

A satellite image from Google Earth taken in June 2022 of the area impacted by the bombing. The main buildings and the rubble that resulted from the attack were removed, while the two adjacent annexes remained, and the adjacent houses remained, which appear to be subject to significant damage that would require demolition.

Victims

News about the number of victims continued to be reported in conjunction with the search for victims under the rubble during the two days following the incident. On 20 January 2022, Al-Masirah TV posted a press conference in which the Director of the Health Office in the Capital Secretariat spoke about the total number of victims of the attack on Al-Libi neighborhood, which amounted to 14 fatalities, including 4 women, and 12 injured, including 3 women and 3 children, mostly from Al-Junaid family.

The names and ages of the victims were mentioned in the press conference. Upon examination of the names, it was found that among the 14 dead there were 9 men, in addition to 5 unidentified bodies, and no women’s names were mentioned. A video from Al-Masirah TV during the funeral of the victims on 25 January 2022 showed the name of a woman from Al-Junaid family who was not mentioned among the dead and wounded at the conference, bringing the total estimated casualties to 15 fatalities, including 9 males, a woman, and five unknown people, and 12 injured: 6 males, 3 women, and 3 children.

A screenshot of a woman from Al Junaid family whose name appeared in a poster on the day of the funeral of Al-Libi neighborhood victims on Al Masirah TV on 25 January 2022. Her name was not mentioned in the press conference.

The Names of the victims

Deaths

Muhammad Ali Saleh Al-Fitaihi (40 years old)

Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid (65 years old)

Ali Ali Al-Ahdal (50 years old)

Ahmed Nasser Shaiban (45 years old)

Mazen Ismail Khaled Obaid (22 years old)

Majed Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid (33 years old)

Abdullah Muqbil Hassan Al-Junaid (32 years old)

Abdullah Mohsen Saleh Al-Wajeeh (33 years old)

Ayman Ahmed Al-Sabri (23 years old)

Marwa Mustafa Muhammad Al-Junaid (source: funeral video)

Five unidentified bodies

Injured

Safaa Muhammad Mubarak (17 years old)

Hizam Ahmed Mohamed Mubarak (19 years old)

Areej Ahmed Mohamed Mubarak (20 years old)

Nabil Nasser Hizam Mahdi (25 years old)

Ali Naji Abdullah Al-Junaid (51 years old)

Taqi al-Din Amin Abdullah al-Wajeeh (35 years old)

Hoda Muhammad Abbas Al-Wajeeh (60 years old)

Youssef Ahmed Al-Dharhani (27 years old)

Hossam Nasr Yahya Al-Nahmi (22 years old)

Wafa Abdullah Qasim Al-Junaid (32 years old)

Nadine Omar Muhammad Saif (5 years old)

Lujain Omar Muhammad Saif (two years) (two months according to Al-Masirah report)

Conclusion

An analysis of information and open-source visual content collected by Yemeni Archive about the incident concluded that between 21:14 and 21:28 local time, on 17 January 2022, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched two air strikes on the house of the director of the College of Aviation and air force defense affiliated with the Houthis and an adjacent house in Al-Libi neighborhood of Maeen District, north of the capital Sanaa. Sources reported that the attack killed 15 people, including a woman, and five unidentified bodies, injured 12 others, including children and women, and caused varying damage to four houses and two annexes.

The military context on the day of the attack says that the bombing of the military leader’s house in Sanaa came in response to a bombing claimed by the Houthis that targeted Abu Dhabi airport and an oil facility in the Emirates, and their attempt to target Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles. After the Houthi bombing, the Coalition announced an air military operation in Yemen, and said it targeted terrorist leaders north of Sanaa, in response to the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.