Spear Operations Group is a US private military company that was hired by the United Arab Emirates to carry out operations in Yemen to support the Emirati intervention in the Yemeni Civil War. It was founded by Abraham Golan, a Hungarian-Israeli security contractor.[1]
The company was approached by a representative of the United Arab Emirates government[2] to carry out assassinations in Yemen as part of the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present),[3][4][5] which may be a violation of the US War Crimes Act of 1996.[6]
In 2015, the company embedded a team of US special forces veterans and former members of the French Foreign Legion within the Emirati military, which supplied the team with weapons, uniforms, Emirati military ranks and identity tags.[7][8] By 2016, Spear Operations Group had replaced the Legionnaires with Americans.[1]
On 29 December 2015, Spear Operations Group began its operations in Yemen with a failed assassination attempt on Anssaf Ali Mayo, the local leader of Islamist political party Al-Islah.[9][10]
Though the first operation failed, the team stayed on in Yemen for several more months and claimed credit for a number of other high-profile assassinations.[11] Their targets included other members of al-Islah, nonviolent clerics, and some "out and out terrorists."[1]
After Spear Operations Group's assassinations were made public by an October 2018 BuzzFeed News report, US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Menendez wrote letters to the State Department demanding answers about Spear Operations Group, focusing on whether the federal government knew about their involvement in the war in Yemen.[12] Warren also sent a letter to the Justice Department calling for an investigation into the group.[7][13]
^ abcRoston, Aram (16 October 2018). "American Mercenaries Were Hired To Assassinate Politicians In The Middle East". BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
^Shickman, Ittai (2018-10-17). "The Israeli assassin who teamed up with Mohammad Dahlan". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
^Lemon, Jason (2018-10-16). "American Mercenaries Worked for Saudi-Led Coalition to Assassinate Clerics and Islamist Political Figures in Yemen". Newsweek. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^"Abbas Rival 'Hired American Mercs for Targeted Killings in Yemen on Behalf of UAE'". Haaretz. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^Avant, Deborah (October 19, 2018). "Former U.S. Special Forces were reportedly hired to kill Yemen's leaders. Did the government know?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
^Goodman, Ryan; Knuckey, Sarah (October 18, 2018). "DOJ Must Investigate Possible War Crimes by American Mercenaries in Yemen: There is no legal "gray area"—Americans cannot assassinate civilians". Slate.
^ abKeller, Megan (2018-10-22). "Warren wants probe into whether former U.S. soldiers worked as assassins for UAE". The Hill. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
^Trevithick, Joseph (16 October 2018). "UAE Contracted An American Hit Squad to Kill Political Figures And More in Yemen". The Drive. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
^Clark, James (16 October 2018). "Former US special operators were reportedly hired to assassinate Yemeni political figures". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
^Uqba, Sana (16 October 2018). "UAE hired Israeli mercenary to lead US death squad on Yemen assassination spree". al-Araby. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
^"Abbas rival 'hired Israeli mercenary to assassinate UAE's enemies in Yemen'". Times of Israel. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
^"Menendez Demands Answers Following Reports Alleging U.S. Citizens Working as Mercenaries Abroad". U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Newark, New Jersey. February 8, 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
^Villa, Lissandra (October 22, 2018). "Elizabeth Warren Demands An Investigation Into American Ex-Soldiers' Assassination Campaign In Yemen". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
and 21 Related for: Spear Operations Group information
Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG or SOG), clandestine US special operationsgroup 1964–1972 SpearOperationsGroup, an American private military...
knowledge. The group generally recruits personnel from special mission units within the U.S. Special Operations community. SOG Paramilitary Operations Officers...
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is...
OperationSpear was a United States operation, conducted by U.S. Marines, in Karabillah, Iraq, announced in June 2005. The main objective was to provide...
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with...
vulnerable to spear phishing due to the value of the information their employees have access to. The Russian government run Threat Group-4127 (Fancy Bear)...
Australia: Used by the NSW Police Force Tactical Operations Unit and Victoria Police Special OperationsGroup in .300BLK. SIG MCX in .300BLK is being acquired...
warfare and special operations. It specializes in sea, air and land operations, like its counterpart in the Naval Special Operations Command of the Philippine...
(Xhosa pronunciation: [um̩ˈkʰonto we ˈsizwe]; abbreviated MK; English: Spear of the Nation) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress...
End of the Spear is a 2005 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jim Hanon, written by Bill Ewing, Bart Gavigan and Hanon, and stars...
LEAF, CEMETERY WIND, GRAY FOX, TITRANT RANGER, and INTREPID SPEAR. The Field OperationsGroup (FOG) was created in the summer of 1980 in order to take part...
A number of armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Yemeni civil war. List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon List...
same length as Spear of Destiny, in May 1994, and later that year published Spear of Destiny and the two mission packs together as the Spear of Destiny Super...
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing is a successor organization of the 16th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original...
ultimately to the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Operation Neptune Spear. Sister JSOC units 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment –...
officer, succeeding Jon Corzine. In September 2000, Goldman Sachs purchased Spear, Leeds, & Kellogg, one of the largest specialist firms on the New York Stock...
U.S. Army Special Operations Forces—prior to the creation of USASOC, circa 1984 (51:52) The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne)...
Among other things, it uses zero-day exploits, spear phishing and malware to compromise targets. The group promotes the political interests of the Russian...
as DEVGRU). The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, was carried out in a CIA-led mission, with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinating...
This is an incomplete list of operations conducted by the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group. On 14 March 1979 the People's Revolutionary Army...
Global Information