Impact site: A market in Al-Bumiyah Village, Maqbanah District, Taiz Governorate
Date: 01 December 2024
Time: Around 12:30 PM Yemen Local Time
Victims: Yemeni Archive confirmed four deaths and six injuries, while the widely reported numbers are six deceased and eight injured.
Incident type: Drone attack according to most available sources
Munitions likely used: Unidentified
Responsible party: Potentially Ansar Allah (Houthi) Movement

Introduction

On December 1, 2024, at around 12:30 PM, an attack targeted a market near Umm Al-Qura School, in Al-Bumiyah area of Maqbanah District. The incident, reportedly carried out by a Houthi drone, struck individuals as they gathered to purchase essential goods in the market. The attack reportedly resulted in multiple casualties, including children.

Maqbanah District recently experienced similar incidents. On 23 December 2024, a child was killed, and three others from the same family were injured when their home was struck by an artillery or mortar shell reportedly fired by Houthi forces at the village of Al-Bumiyah. Earlier in the year, on 28 April, 2024, Al Arabiya reported that five Yemeni women were killed in a drone strike carried out by the Houthis, targeting a water well.

News and civil society reports suggest that the significance of the area for the Houthis lies in their desire to gain or keep control of the western Hudaydah-Taiz transport route, which connects the governorates of Taiz and Hudaydah.

Content Warning

This investigation contains graphic content, including descriptions of the killing of individuals in the incident, and visuals of injured and deceased victims of the incident. Sources that contain graphic audiovisual content may be redacted or accompanied by warning notes. If you would like to request access to an unredacted version, please email us requests@yemeniarchive.org

Methodology:

Yemeni Archive conducted an investigation into the incident based on:

Preserving, analysing, and verifying 165 video clips, images and reports, posted on social media and elsewhere online.
Collecting initial reports for determining the time of the attack.
Determining the impact location through the information available online.
Examining the allegations and nature of responsibility for the incident.
Examining official reports and social media accounts that reported the numbers of casualties and matching them with multiple sources to verify the accuracy of the information.

This investigation is based on multiple stages of analysis of open-source materials, providing the Yemeni Archive team with information related to the date, time, and location of the incident, as well as on potential victims and potential perpetrators. For more information on Yemeni Archive's research methodology, please visit our website.

About the Impacted Site:

The impacted site is reportedly a market in Al-Bumiyah village, located in Al-Barasha area of Maqbanah District, Taiz Governorate. Al-Barasha area encompasses a group of villages, including Al-Bumiyah.

*Satellite image from Airbus via Google Earth Pro of the impact site at or near* *13.8140699, 43.4911976. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 18 December 2024.*

According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), an independent non-profit organisation collecting data on violent conflict, the northern and eastern regions of Taiz Governorate are under Houthi control, while the southern areas are largely governed by the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG). The frontlines in Taiz are among the most active in Yemen. In the western part of the governorate, Maqbanah, incidents are experienced frequently and often involve stand-off shelling and drone operations.

*Map showing Taiz Governorate within Yemen, source:* *Berghof Foundation and Political Development Forum Yemen. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 17 March 2024.*

*Map showing the areas of control and frontlines in Taiz Governorate as of 31 January 2024, and the location of Maqbanah District, source:* *ACLED. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 18 December 2024.*

What Happened and When:

Social media accounts including activists and journalists circulated news that a market in Al-Barasha area of Maqbanah District had been struck by a Houthi drone.

The first report of the incident (warning: graphic image) was posted on X by Al-Yemen Today on 1 December 2024, at 2:04 PM Yemen local time. The tweet stated that “more than ten civilians were killed and injured due to a Houthi attack on a popular market in Al-Bumiyah area, Maqbanah District, west of Taiz”. The tweet included an image of what appear to be two deceased individuals.

*Screenshot of Al-Yemen Today's* *tweet* (warning: graphic image) sharing the news about the attack. The timestamps on the image indicate when the source was posted in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 3:04 am on December 01 in PDT corresponds to 2:04 pm on December 01 in Yemen local time. Captured and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 18 December 2024.

News about the attack continued to be circulated online. On Facebook Iyad Ghanem (warning: graphic image), Member of the National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council, and Abdullah Al-Alimi (warning: graphic image), Director General of the IRG Culture Office in Taiz Governorate, shared news updates.

*Screenshot of Iyad Ghanem's Facebook* *post* (warning: graphic image). The timestamps on the image indicate when the source was posted, in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 5:05 am on December 01 in PDT corresponds to 4:05 pm on December 01 in Yemen local time. Captured and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 15 December 2024.

Three hours after the first reports of the attack, at 5:03 PM, Muammar Al-Eryani, IRG Minister of Information, condemned the attack and accused the Houthis of targeting a market in the village of Al-Bumiyah.

*Screenshot of Muammar Al-Eryani's* *post* on X reporting the attack. The timestamps on the image indicate when the source was posted, in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 6:03 am on December 01 in PDT corresponds to 5:03 pm on December 01 in Yemen local time. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 16 December 2024.

Independent Yemeni news outlets on X and Facebook began sharing more details about the attack, including the names of the victims and videos reportedly filmed inside a hospital where the victims and injured were transferred. Belqees TV shared a video on YouTube in which local authorities in Maqbanah District stated that the attack resulted in the death of six citizens and the injury of eight others, most of whom sustained severe injuries. The Belqees video showed a group of people attempting to wrap bodies lying on the ground. The report claimed that the injured were initially transported to the medical point of the Seventh Giants Brigade in Hays. (The Seventh Giants Brigade consists of members of the Tihama Resistance militia and is active in the Hays area. The Giants Brigades/Southern Giants Brigades are a Yemeni military force established by the United Arab Emirates to combat the Houthis.) The injured were later transferred to the hospital in Al-Khoukha for treatment (see medical facilities geolocated below).

*Screenshot from Belqees TV* *video* *on Youtube. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 18 December 2024.*

Hamid Khalidi, Director of Maqbanah District (IRG), was interviewed by multiple TV channels covering the attack. On the same day of the attack, Yemen Shabab TV aired a report that included a phone call with Khalidi, who stated that the attack occurred at 12:30 PM Yemen local time. The following day the channel aired another news report in which Khalidi stated that the incident involved the Houthis using a drone to target a small, crowded civilian market during midday. The drone reportedly launched a projectile at the market, resulting in the death of six civilians and the injury of eight others, including children. Some of the injured were in critical condition. Several of the injured were transferred to the city of Aden due to the severity of their health conditions. Khalidi also noted that the drone remained in the air for some time after the attack, purportedly to prevent people from approaching and assisting the injured.

In his conversation with Belqees TV, Khalidi confirmed the presence of a ten-year-old child among the injured, and emphasised the absence of any military presence in the area. Khalidi was featured in another video shared by Al Joumhouriya TV (warning: graphic images), in which he stated that the area is not associated with any military context or close to any other clashes or frontline. Note, while the Al Joumhouriya TV video does show an armed person, whose identity Yemeni Archive was unable to confirm, this video was purportedly filmed at the hospital and not in the area where the incident took place.

In a video shared on X (warning: graphic images from the start), three individuals were interviewed. The first interviewee stated that the attack occurred in front of Umm Al-Qura School, an area with shops where people often gather to buy their needs. All three interviewees claimed the attack was carried out by a drone originating from Houthi-controlled areas.

News of the attack continued to circulate the following day, December 2, with information shared by Zain Al-Abidin Al-Dabibi, a political activist (warning: graphic images), and Yemeni journalists Yahya Al-Abed and Ahmed Al-Shmeri (warning: graphic images).

Brigadier General Najeeb Waraq, the Director of Hudaydah Governorate Police (IRG), condemned the Houthis’ reported targeting of the market and stated in an interview that the shelling was carried out using mortar rounds, resulting in more than ten civilian casualties, including dead and injured. He called on the United Nations to take action to stop what he described as a humanitarian catastrophe.

Footage was shared from various videos (warning: graphic images) filmed inside a hospital, showing the injured and deceased with multiple injuries across their bodies, and blood stains clearly visible.

*Screenshots from* *Al Joumhouriya TV* footage (warning: graphic images) showing four bodies in shrouds and two without shrouds. The uncovered bodies display injuries to the lower part of the body. Yemeni Archive was unable to determine whether the uncovered bodies were among those that had been shrouded. Images captured and grouped by Yemeni Archive on 03 January 2025.

*Screenshots from* *Al Joumhouriya TV* *footage showing an injured person receiving treatment for what appears to be an injury to his arm. Captured, grouped, and marked by Yemeni Archive on 03 January 2025.*

*Screenshot from* *Al Joumhouriya TV* *footage of an injured person appearing to show a head and neck injury. Captured and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 03 January 2025.*

*Screenshots from* *Al Joumhouriya TV* *footage showing four other injured individuals, one of whom is a child, appearing to receive treatment. Captured, grouped and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 03 January 2025.*

Based on Yemeni Archive's analysis of the available information, on 1 December 2024, at around 12:30 PM, or no later than 2:04 PM Yemen local time, the Houthis launched an attack on civilians gathered at a market near a school in the Al-Bumiyah area, close to the administrative border of Hays District with neighbouring Al-Hudaydah Governorate. The victims were reportedly shopping for essential goods at the time of the attack. All news reports about the incident stated the deaths of six individuals and injuries to eight others.

Geolocation:

Below, Yemeni Archive analyses the location of each place mentioned in the online information about the attack. Yemeni Archive searched for the mentioned locations on Google Maps, Google Earth Pro, and LiveUAmap, and was able to identify Umm Al-Qura School and a nearby grocery store, in whose vicinity the attack most likely occurred.

Notable locations:

Al-Bumiyah Village: The general area where the attack reportedly took place, according to initial news reports.
Umm Al-Qura School: Identified as the location in front of which the attack occurred, as stated by an interviewee in a video (warning: graphic images) shared on X.
Hospital in Hays: Mentioned in reports as the first medical facility where the injured people were transferred for medical treatment.
Hospital in Al Khawkhah: Reported as the second medical facility where the injured were relocated for further care.

Google Maps contains markers for Umm Al-Qura School in Al-Bumiyah at coordinates 13.8136765,43.4904652, and nearby, a building labelled Al-Bumiyah Popular Market in Al-Barasha (Souq Al-Bumiyah Al-Shaebii) at coordinates 13.814022, 43.491389. This is likely the impact location.

*Satellite image from Airbus via Google Earth Pro showing a marker for Umm Al-Qura School at coordinates* *13.8136765,43.4904652; the label on the red marker states “Umm Al-Qura School in Al-Bumiyah”. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 30 December 2024.*

*Satellite image from Airbus via Google Earth Pro showing a marker for Al-Bumiyah Popular Market at coordinates* *13.814022, 43.491389; the label on the red marker states “Al-Bumiyah Popular Market in Al-Barasha”. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 18 March 2025.*

From the Yemeni Archive’s analysis of a video purportedly filmed from a hospital in Al Khawkhah, it is most likely Al-Khokha Field Hospital given the matching staircase and other notable features. Yemeni Archive found a video filmed previously inside the facility showing what appears to be the same staircase.

*The top screenshot is from* *Al Joumhouriya* *TV footage (warning: graphic images), showing a staircase. The bottom screenshot is from a* *video* shared on Facebook by the National Resistance Medical Services Department, showing footage from inside the hospital in Al Khawkhah, including what appears to be the same type of staircase railing. Captured, grouped, and marked by Yemeni Archive on 03 April 2025.

Screenshot of satellite image from Airbus and Maxar via Google Earth Pro showing the distance between Al-Bumiyah Popular Market, marked as Point A in green, and the hospital in Hays, marked as Point B in red. The image indicates a geographical distance of 13 km between the two locations. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 18 March 2025.

Screenshot of satellite image from Maxar and Airbus via Google Earth Pro showing the geographical distance between the hospital in Hays, marked as Point A in green, and the hospital in Al Khawkhah, marked as Point B in red. The image indicates a geographical distance of 27 km between the two locations. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 03 April 2025.

Note: According to OpenStreetMap, Al-Khawkhah Field Hospital, located at 13.8600495, 43.2417565, was created as a location marker on OpenStreetMap over six years ago by user alameed2000. The location was labeled as a clinic, a fuel station, and a hospital. However, this location is not marked as a hospital in Google Earth Pro; instead, the building at these coordinates appears under a different name: Al-Ma'had Al-Kabir in Al-Kadah.

The impact site, as well as the areas to which the individuals affected by the attack were transferred, are located outside Houthi-controlled areas, as shown on the map below.

*Screenshot from* *LiveUAmap* *showing the Maqbanah District, Hays, and Al Khawkhah—parts of which are highlighted in blue, representing IRG control as of March 2025. Captured by Yemeni Archive on 28 March 2025.*

Based on the available online information and Yemeni Archive's analysis, it appears that the attack took place in an area within the Maqbanah District that is outside Houthi-controlled territory. This area is marked in blue on LiveUAmap above.

Munitions Used:

Most online sources claimed the attack was carried out using a drone. The Yemeni Archive did not find any online visual information about the type of drone used or the recovery of any weapon fragments. However, eyewitnesses claimed that the drone circled above the impacted site following the attack, and officials claimed that the drone used in the attack appeared Iranian-made. Based on this information and drawing from ACLED data on Houthi drone capabilities, this attack was most likely executed using multi-use drones, designed for various missions, including surveillance or dropping explosives before returning to base. Examples include Mudhud-1, Rujum, Mersad-1, Mersad-2, and Sammad-4.

*Above is an image of the Rujum drone. Source:* *Oryx blog. This image was captured by Yemeni Archive on December 28, 2024.*

*Above is an image of the Mersad drone. Source:* *Oryx blog. This image was captured by Yemeni Archive on December 28, 2024.*

Regarding the claim made by Brigadier General Najeeb Waraq about the attack being carried out by mortar shelling, Yemeni Archive did not find open source information to support his claim.

Potentially Responsible:

Asil Al-Saqladi, Director of the Media Center for the Southern Giants Brigades, and Yemeni journalist Mohamed Al-Dhubaibi, shared a video on X featuring footage purportedly filmed at the medical point of the Seventh Giants Brigade containing interviews with three eyewitnesses. The eyewitnesses stated that the attack was carried out by a drone originating from Houthi-controlled areas. They also stated that the targeted location was a market and emphasised that there was no military presence in the area.

All statements and news reports published about the attack consistently indicated that the Houthis were responsible. The Yemeni Archive did not find any news or statements published by the Houthis regarding this incident.

Casualties:

Al-Arsh News, Hossam Ahmed Al-Qulaiah and journalist and IRG advisor Ahmed Al-Sabai posted the reported number of casualties and injuries from the incident, describing six fatalities and eight injured persons. Taiz Hot News, Almoojaz News, and IRG Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani shared the reported names of the victims and the injured.

*Screenshot of* *Muammar Al-Eryani's* *tweet sharing the names of the victims and injured, captured by Yemeni Archive on December 11, 2024.*

The names of the deceased were reported as:

1. Abdulmalik Mafdal Alayah

2. Abdullah Abdu Ahmed Qaribah

3. Abdullah Ali Mohammed Ahmed

4. Haiman Abdulrahim Mohammed Qaed

5. Hassan Saeed Ali Hassan

6. Zaki Ahmed Abdu Yusuf

The names of the injured were reported as:

1. Ahmed bin Ahmed Yusuf

2. Anis Abdulghani Mohammed Qaed

3. Abdullah Ahmed Ali Qaed Salem

4. Yusuf Mohammed Ali Mohammed

5. Abdu Hameed Ali Salem

6. Qaed Hassan Ali Mohammed

7. Mansour Saeed Qaed Ali

8. Eyad Abdulmalik Saeed Qaed

Yemeni Archive analysed videos shared in relation to the attack, including one shared by Al Joumhouriya TV (warning: graphic images) which included scenes from the hospital, most likely in Hays where the bodies and injured were reportedly taken. That video shows four bodies being covered by shrouds, and six injured individuals, including a child, receiving medical attention. Images of the people who were reportedly killed were also shown in other videos, including one shared on X by Yemeni journalist Mohammed Al Dhabyan (warning: graphic images) that reportedly shows the deceased individuals.

*Screenshots from a* *video* shared on X by Mohammed Al Dhabyan that appear to show deceased individuals. Yemeni Archive cannot confirm whether the two individuals without shrouds are the same as those in shrouds. Captured, grouped, and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 03 January 2025.

The screenshots below, of people who were reportedly injured as a result of the attack, were captured from the Al Joumhouriya TV video.

*Screenshots from Al Joumhouriya TV's* *video* *showing injured persons, including a child. Captured, grouped, and blurred by Yemeni Archive on 17 December 2024.*

All news reports shared about the attack claimed the deaths of six people and injuries to eight others, with their names being widely circulated. However, due to the limited clear visual evidence available, Yemeni Archive could confirm that the videos purporting to show the victims of the attack showed four deceased individuals and six injured, including a child.

Responses:

Several local and international entities reported on and condemned this attack.

On the day of the attack at 5:03 pm Yemen local time, Muammar Al-Eryani, Minister of Information (IRG) issued a statement condemning the attack. He called on the international community and the United Nations to condemn the attack, designate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organisation, and prosecute its leaders involved in such crimes.

*Screenshot of Muammar Al-Eryani's* *tweet* condemning the attack on the market. The timestamps on the image indicate when the source was posted, in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 6:03 am on December 01 in PDT corresponds to 5:03 pm on December 01 in Yemen local time. Captured by Yemeni Archive on December 11, 2024.

The Maqbanah District’s local government media office (IRG) shared a statement condemning the attack and reporting the number of casualties. The local authority expressed condolences to the victims' families and urged collective action to prevent further tragedies.

*Screenshot of the Maqbanah District media office's Facebook post sharing the* *statement*. The timestamps on the image indicate when the source was posted, in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) - 10:16 am on December 01 in PDT corresponds to 9:16 pm on December 01 in Yemen local time. Captured by Yemeni Archive on December 23, 2024.

The U.S. non-profit American Center for Justice (ACJ) condemned the targeting of a market. Their statement claimed that the attack constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions and amounts to a war crime. They called on the international community and the UN Security Council to hold the perpetrators accountable and to halt the flow of weapons to the Houthis and other armed groups; and demanded an independent international investigation to ensure justice for the victims.

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen and the French Embassy in Yemen also condemned the attack.

Conclusion:

On December 1, 2024, Al-Bumiyah Popular Market in Maqbanah District was attacked, reportedly by a Houthi drone or mortar rounds. There was no military activity reported in the area at the time of the attack, and Yemeni Archive did not find any official response from the Houthis in open sources. According to online sources the attack occurred around 12:30 PM, impacting civilians shopping at the market. Initial reports claimed six deaths and eight injuries, including a ten-year-old child; the injured were transferred to hospitals in Hays and Al Khawkhah, with some eventually transferred to Aden due to their critical condition. Available visual information analysed by Yemeni Archive showed at least four deaths and six injuries. Maqbanah District has witnessed multiple attacks impacting civilians in 2024, involving drone strikes or shelling on populated areas, resulting in repeated casualties.

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Drone Attack on a Market in Taiz Governorate

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INVESTIGATIONS