(Previous Incident Codes: YEM074USYEM082)

On May 17th 2012, at an Al Qaeda checkpoint in the town of Shaqra in the Abyan Province, a suspected US drone-fired missile or Yemeni air strike hit two cars killing between three and eight alleged Al Qaeda militants and up to two civilians, in addition to wounding others, according to local officials and residents, however the US has not confirmed the strike.

There have been conflicting accounts of the incident in reporting including the deathtoll, their civilian or belligerent status and whether the strike was conducted at a checkpoint or a vehicle traveling through the town. Reuters reported that three militants and two civilians were killed in a Yemeni airstrike, according to local residents and officials. However, AP claimed that six militants were killed when a strike hit a vehicle in the town. AFP, in contrast, reported that six militants were killed in a strike on a checkpoint in Shaqra which News 24 confirmed. CBS News corroborated the figure but provided no details on where or how the strike in Shaqra occured. Security officials told CNN that eight militants traveling in a convoy were killed in a drone strike, which was followed by a series of airstrikes by the Yemeni Air Force. A Facebook post from Yemen News Network from Aden mentions “wounded” from the airstrike but does not specify how many.

It remains unclear who was behind the incident, with residents and local officials reporting both airstrikes and artillery shelling and blaming both US military and Yemeni military forces.