(Previous Incident Codes: YEM137 USYEM156 )

On August 8th 2013, the first day of Eid, at least two suspected Al Qaeda operatives were killed and two others were injured when the car in which they were traveling was struck by a missile from an unmanned drone, confirmed by US officials as an American drone, in the Al Ayoun area of Hadhramout province.

The alleged militants killed in the strike ‘were recruiting youngsters’ according to CNN. Residents said a drone had been flying low over the province since dawn. An unnamed local told CNN: ‘When we hear it flying above us, we know there will be a strike later in the day.’ A Yemeni government website identified one of the dead men as Sami Mohammed Abdullah Bahshwan, described as a 39-year-old Al Qaeda member and resident of the Dees area of Mukalla. His family had identified his body and had taken it for burial, the website added. The identity of a second man remained unknown. One summary of the strike written by Shuaib Almosawa noted that three individuals were killed, including Jamal Abdullah Saleh al-Nahdi, a close associate of Aymen al-Zawahiri. Xinhua quoted an interior ministry official who said that at least three suspected militants were killed and two others were injured in the Al Ayoun area.

The attack hit at around 4pm local time, destroying a car, reportedly a Toyota Hilux that was travelling through the eastern province of Hadramout. Witnesses reported seeing drones hovering over the area since dawn. Subsequent reporting by Beacon Reader said this was a pair of strikes. Drones targeted the Toyota Hilux, killing two occupants, according to a September 2013 report. Five passengers reportedly fled the scene and were pursued by the drones. Their bodies were found two miles from the wreckage of the pickup truck (it is unclear if these casualties were recorded in the other two separate incidents on the same day).

In an August 23 speech President Hadi declared the US and Yemeni forces had foiled AQAP plots. He said this Toyota Hilux was part of these terrorist plans and had been laden with seven tons of explosives. However the security chief for Hadramout governorate said ‘there was no evidence of any TNT or explosives’ at the scene of the strike. And seven tons is reportedly beyond the maximum payload of a Toyota Hilux.

A collection of organizations tweeted about the strike, including @Marebpress, al-Alayam, and Russia Today. RT reported that the strike was ordered after a conference call had been intercepted earlier in the week. The call was allegedly a collection of operatives discussing pending attacks, and this reporting was also noted by Mareb Press. The United States had closed embassies across MENA due to reported terror threats viewed as credible. The New York Times noted that twelve Al Qaeda operatives were killed in three strikes and Ahmed Al Haj, writing for Yahoo News, reported that two strikes had killed nine suspected Al Qaeda operatives (recorded in separate incidents).

US officials confirmed drones carried out the attack, telling NBC News the wave of strikes was in response to intercepted communications suggesting a terrorist attack. The officials said ‘there is no evidence any of those killed could be considered among Al Qaeda leadership’.