Direct proof of use
The Mk 82 appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War record through remnants from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. Human Rights Watch identified U.S.-supplied Mk-82 500-pound bomb bodies fitted with JDAM satellite guidance among remnants from coalition strikes on the Amran Cement Factory on February 3, 2016 and February 15, 2016.
The public record most often identifies these weapons as guided bombs built around a Mk 82-class 500-pound body rather than as unguided free-fall releases. Human Rights Watch separately identified a U.S.-manufactured GBU-12 Paveway II 500-pound laser-guided bomb at the October 8, 2016 Sanaa funeral-hall strike, and Bellingcat identified a GBU-12 Paveway II, based on the Mark 82 general-purpose bomb, from imagery after the August 9, 2018 Dahyan bus strike.
Sources: HRW Bombing Businesses, HRW Funeral Attack, Bellingcat Dahyan Bombing
Timeline
The Saudi-led coalition began its air campaign against Houthi-aligned forces on March 26, 2015. Human Rights Watch later documented multiple coalition airstrikes on civilian economic sites between March 2015 and February 2016, including the Amran Cement Factory strikes where Mk-82 bomb bodies fitted with JDAM guidance were identified.
On October 8, 2016, coalition aircraft struck al-Sala al-Kubra community hall in Sanaa during a funeral ceremony. Human Rights Watch identified the munition from post-strike photos and footage as a U.S.-manufactured GBU-12 Paveway II 500-pound laser-guided bomb.
On August 9, 2018, a Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck a bus in Dahyan, Saada governorate. Bellingcat reported that photographed fragments included a GBU-12 Paveway II control fin marked for use on Mk 82, while also noting that the fragments were not photographed in situ.
Sources: HRW Bombing Businesses, HRW Funeral Attack, Bellingcat Dahyan Bombing
Coalition airstrike role
In this conflict, the Mk 82 record is tied to air-delivered strike munitions used by the Saudi-led coalition. The directly documented examples are not Houthi use or Yemeni ground-force use; they are coalition aircraft strikes in which investigators later identified 500-pound bomb remnants.
The distinction between bomb body and guidance kit matters for the page. The Mk 82 is the 500-pound general-purpose bomb body, while Yemen remnants often point to GBU-12 Paveway II or Mk-82 JDAM configurations that add laser or satellite guidance. Those records support the Mk 82 body's conflict appearance, but they do not by themselves prove unguided-release tactics in the Yemen campaign.
Sources: HRW Bombing Businesses, HRW Funeral Attack, Bellingcat Dahyan Bombing
Evidence limits
The strongest source-backed claim is that Mk 82-class 500-pound bomb bodies were used by Saudi-led coalition aircraft in Yemen as part of guided munition assemblies. Human Rights Watch's Amran and Sanaa identifications rely on inspected or reviewed remnants, while Bellingcat's Dahyan identification relies on open-source imagery and includes a caveat that the photographed fragments were not documented where they fell.
The cited sources also discuss civilian casualties and legal concerns. This record attributes those assessments to the investigating organizations and keeps the catalog claim limited to weapon identification, user, date, place, and role in the 2014 Yemen Civil War.
Sources: HRW Bombing Businesses, HRW Funeral Attack, Bellingcat Dahyan Bombing
