There have long been suspicions that the "Abyan massacre" - abotched airstrike in Yemen last December which killed 41 civilians, including 14 women and 21 children (plus 14 alleged al-Qaeda members), was carried out by the United States rather than the Yemen military. Photographs from the wreckagereleased by Amnesty International now appear to confirm this.

The pictures show parts of a BGM-109D Tomahawk cruise missile - possessed only by US forces - and cluster bombs which it was apparently carrying.

In March, the Yemeni government, which is reluctant to admit US military involvement in the country, formally apologised for the attack and said it would pay compensation to the victims' families.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 8 June 2010.