Lawsuit Claims UAE Hired U.S. Veterans for Assassinations in Yemen at $1.5M a Month

A newly surfaced federal lawsuit is reigniting one of the most controversial allegations to emerge from the war in Yemen—that a team of American military veterans was recruited to carry out targeted assassinations on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

At the center of the case is Anssaf Ali Mayo, a Yemeni politician who claims he was the target of a December 2015 assassination attempt in Aden. His lawsuit alleges that a privately run U.S. team—made up of former elite operators—was deployed to eliminate political figures under the guise of counterterrorism.

The Alleged Hit List

According to court filings, the American team was handed a “23-man hit list” shortly after arriving in Yemen. The list reportedly included names and photographs of individuals identified as targets.

The lawsuit claims the list was provided by a uniformed Emirati officer, suggesting direct state involvement. Earlier investigative reporting—most notably by BuzzFeed News—described a nearly identical detail: a set of “23 cards,” each containing a face, name, and limited intelligence on the target.

While the exact circumstances of the handoff differ between accounts, the consistency of the “23 targets” claim across sources has become a focal point of the case.

The Team Behind the Operation

The lawsuit names several former U.S. servicemen, including Abraham Golan, Isaac Gilmore, and Dale Comstock. The group is alleged to have operated under a private entity known as Spear Operations Group.

According to the complaint, the operation was structured as a paid contract, with the team receiving roughly $1.5 million per month, plus bonuses tied to successful killings.

Golan has previously been quoted in media reports acknowledging the existence of a “targeted assassination program” in Yemen, though the legal implications of those statements remain unresolved.

The Attempt in Aden

The first mission, according to the lawsuit, targeted Mayo at a political party office in Aden. The plan allegedly involved detonating explosives to kill everyone inside, followed by small-arms fire to eliminate survivors.

Mayo survived the attack and later fled the country.

His legal team argues the operation was not a lawful military action but an attempted extrajudicial killing—potentially constituting a war crime under international law.

A War Within a War

The allegations unfold against the backdrop of Yemen’s complex civil war, where regional powers—including the UAE—have conducted counterterrorism operations against extremist groups.

The UAE has denied wrongdoing, maintaining that its actions in Yemen were conducted legally and in coordination with allied governments. Officials have consistently framed their role as part of broader counterterrorism efforts, not political repression.

However, human rights organizations and investigative reports have long raised concerns about the use of proxy forces, secret detention sites, and targeted killings in southern Yemen.

Legal and Strategic Implications

The lawsuit, filed in a U.S. federal court, raises serious legal questions:

• Can U.S. citizens be held liable for participating in foreign-directed assassination programs?
• Did the operation violate U.S. laws governing military services abroad?
• Were the targets legitimate combatants—or political opponents?

If proven, the case could expose a gray zone in modern warfare: the outsourcing of lethal operations to private actors operating across national lines.

It also underscores a broader trend in global conflict—the increasing role of private military contractors in missions that blur the line between warfare, intelligence, and covert action.

What Comes Next

For now, the allegations remain just that—claims laid out in a civil complaint, not yet tested in court. The defendants are expected to challenge both the facts and the jurisdiction of the case.

But regardless of the legal outcome, the story has already reopened a deeper conversation about accountability in modern conflict—particularly when state power, private contractors, and covert operations intersect.

In Yemen, where the lines of war have long been blurred, this lawsuit suggests there may have been another layer entirely: a shadow campaign where names were handed over, and missions began before the world ever knew they existed.