(Previous Incident Code: YEM221 )

A series of airstrikes struck an al Qaeda base in Mukalla, in the south-eastern province Hadramout. The attack was conducted with jets, not drones, local residents said. The sound of the jets was louder than drones, they explained. The attack could have been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition though it had eschewed targeting the AQAP hotspot of Mukalla.

Five militants were killed and three wounded in Monday strikes on Mukalla, a major port city that the jihadists seized last April, provincial officials told AFP.

Speculative reports emerged the day after the strike suggesting the leader of AQAP, Qasim al Raymi, may have been killed in the strike.

Witnesses said that the air strikes targeted the headquarters of Brigade 27 near the city’s airport, an air defence camp and the house of the commander of the second Military Region.

The sources added that the strikes started around 8pm local time.