Three militants were killed when a vehicle was destroyed in Yafa’a district south of Bayda province by alleged Yemeni or US airstrikes on June 19, 2012, local and international media reported. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.

According to reporting from Reuters, Yemeni state news (Saba) reported that on June 19th, Yemeni forces killed Salah al-Jawhari, a suspected Al Qaeda militant accused of directing suicide bombers for the terror group, while residents in the Yafa’a District reported that a drone specifically targeted a car that included al-Jawhari and two others.

Kuna.net and Yemen Times corroborated the locals’ story with a report noting that a car with three suspected terrorists was struck by Yemeni forces. Saba quoted one Yemeni military official speaking anonymously as saying that al-Jawhari and his two accomplices were “suicide bombers who were preparing to target military and security commanders in Bayda”, and the same military official believed that al-Jawhari was “in charge of Al Qaeda suicide cells in both Sanaa and Bayda”. The Yemen Times also reported that al-Jawhari was on Yemen’s most wanted terror list for over three years before being killed on June 19th. The same report acknowledged that al-Jawhari was also not the sole target, although no names or additional information was offered about the two other suspected militants who were killed.

According to Yemenfox.net, Yemeni military officials confirmed that security forces killed Salah al-Jawhari. Contrasting this report were residents who stated that an American drone was responsible for striking and destroying the car in which al-Jawhari and two others, who were later described by Yemeni security officials as al-Jawhari’s “guards,” were traveling. The same report from Yemenfox.net credited local witnesses as stating that the U.S. drone fired four missiles at the car. While all Yemeni security officials described al-Jawhari as an Al Qaeda operative, almithaq.net noted that the suspected militant was the leader of Al Qaeda in the Yafa’a region.

On the same day of the strike, US CENTCOM commander General James Mattis, visiting Sanaa, was reported by the US Embassy to have discussed “ways that the United States can cooperate with the Yemeni military to fight the mutual threat of Al Qaeda.”

The incident occured in the evening.