Up to a dozen civilians died during a controversial January raid against Al Qaeda in Yemen, the head of US forces in the Middle East said Thursday.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Joe Votel said “somewhere between four and 12 casualties” resulted from the US raid, which was authorized by US President Donald Trump a few days after his inauguration.

“We have made a determination based on our best information available that we did cause casualties, somewhere between four and 12 casualties,” which US forces “accept responsibility for,” he said.

The investigation carried out after the raid did not establish “incompetence,” “poor decision making,” or “bad judgment,” he told the Senate hearing.

The January 29 raid — the first authorized by Trump — saw US special operations forces enter the Yakla region of Baida province and target a compound occupied by Al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP) operatives.

The mission was beset with problems and resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL as well as several non-combatants, including women and children.

The US also lost a $75 million MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

Source: AFP