According to court documents, a U.S. hit team purportedly monitored Yemeni politicians on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and maintained a covert list of 23 targets.
The lawsuit claims that UAE military officers presented the targets to the team as soon as they arrived in Yemen.
The list, described as “23 cards with the names and faces of 23 people,” was allegedly handed over to an assassination team led by Abraham Golan, a mercenary and former special forces operative believed to be involved in a botched plot to assassinate a Yemeni MP.
In 2015, Golan’s company, Spear, was reportedly contracted by the UAE at a rate of $1.5 million per month plus bonuses for eliminating adversaries of the nation, as stated in the lawsuit.
Each card contained basic information about the individuals, court files indicate.
Isaac Gilmore, CEO of Spear and a former Navy SEAL, admitted that the team didn’t challenge the list but mentioned that some targets might have been individuals unhappy with the UAE’s royal family.
A few hours before their December 14, 2015 arrival in Yemen, Golan gathered many ex-military personnel at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, the documents say.
There, he briefed them about the upcoming mission, according to the complaint.
Each mercenary was told they could keep a $20,000 advance if they opted out of the mission. “We will not accept any questions,” the lawsuit quotes. All participants reportedly stayed on board.
The team then boarded a chartered jet equipped with military gear, including bulletproof vests and tools for explosives, based on allegations from the suit.
Upon reaching Yemen, the assassination squad allegedly began a spree and was “involved in several high-profile assassinations,” as stated in the complaint.
Yemeni Congressman Ansaf Ali Mayo is suing Golan, Gilmore, and another Spear member, Dale Comstock, regarding the assassination attempt on him.
Comstock purportedly tossed an explosive device into a building where Mayo was thought to be. The complaint alleges that personnel evacuated just before the explosion after being warned of impending danger.
This incident compelled Mayo to flee to Saudi Arabia in 2016. He is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction to prevent the three men from targeting him further.
