Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A number of reports indicated that a US drone strike on January 22nd had killed one AQAP member in Bayda province. There were no known associated reported civilian casualties.
Reuters reported that a strike against a car in al-Sama’a district had resulted in the death of one suspected AQAP member, based on official and local sources. A number of sources reported that a militant named as Tufayl al-Ta’izi had been killed by a US drone strike, and that AQAP had acknowledged this.
US Central Command later confirmed that a strike had been conducted on January 22nd, resulting in the death of one AQAP “operative”.
Due to the geographical proximity to other reported US strikes in the same time period, it is possible that some sources listed for this strike instead refer to one or more other strikes from 20th-22nd January 2017.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention a strike on a vehicle in the district of Al Suma’a (مديرية الصومعة), for which the generic coordinates are: 14.166667, 45.831111. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]
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Destroyed car, allegedly the target of a US drone strike on 22nd January 2017
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A possible alleged picture of the strike location, posted by a local language source over a month after the alleged strike date (@marjalhaq, February 28th 2020)
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. military conducted strikes on al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in central Yemen on Jan. 20, 21 and 22.
On Jan. 20, one strike killed an AQAP operative in the al-Baydah Governorate.
On Jan. 21, one strike killed three AQAP operatives in the al-Baydah Governorate.
On Jan. 22, one strike killed an AQAP operative in the al-Baydah Governorate.
"Strikes against al-Qa'ida operatives in Yemen put consistent pressure on the terrorist network and prevent them from plotting and executing attacks against the U.S. and our allies," said Army Maj. Josh T. Jacques, a U.S. Central Command spokesman. "AQAP remains a significant threat to the region, the United States, and beyond."
The CENTCOM mission is to direct and enable military operations and activities with allies and partners to increase regional security and stability in support of enduring U.S. interests.
"U.S. Central Command remains committed to defeating AQAP and denying it safe havens in Yemen," Jacques said.