AL MUKALLA, Yemen — As the raid got underway in his village, Mubarak al-Harad was woken first by barking dogs, then explosions. Instinctively, he grabbed his gun.

“We thought we were being attacked by another tribe,” Mr. Harad said. “We are constantly at war with many tribes.”

He saw three helicopters in the distance. United States commandos and Yemeni soldiers were advancing toward the village, Wadi Abadan, on a mission to rescue an American hostage being held by the Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, along with a South African.

Mr. Harad knew that his 28-year-old son, Sheikh, who was in the village, was a longtime member of the affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. But Mr. Harad said that he and other residents had no idea that Sheikh had smuggled foreign hostages into Wadi Abadan. So the tribesmen of the village fought back against the Americans, convinced that their homes and families were under attack, he said.