Initial reports suggested that one civilian was killed and six to eight civilians, including three to six children, were injured in an alleged US drone strike targeting a vehicle allegedly carrying AQAP members, in the city of Azzan in Shabwa Province at 4pm on the 30th of March 2012. A later report by Akkarama on the attack revealed that one civilian was killed and six children and a woman were injured by flying shrapnel. Furthermore between two and five militants were killed and three others were injured.
The Yemen Times alleged that the drones launched two missiles at a Hyundai which was thought to belong to militants with connections to Al Qaeda.
Reuters reported that officials and residents claim that a bystander was killed and five other civilians wounded. Zeenews added that an official at the local hospital in Azzan claimed, “six people in a car travelling in the opposite direction of the targeted vehicle were wounded, one of whom later died.”
Based on intelligence, it was reported by the Yemen Times that an Al Qaeda leader named Nasser al-Wahaishi, also known as Abu Naseer, was in Azzan and in the vicinity. However, he was not killed in this strike (he was killed in a US drone strike in 2015). The paper reported that after the attack, locals found the bodies of seven people scattered over the road. The source identified the civilian killed as: Mohamed Saleh Al-Suna, 55 from Al-Hawta city in Shabwa died from injuries sustained from shrapnel in the strike”.
The children injured were identified by Alkarama as:
Amin Ali Hassan al Wisabi, 13, hit by shrapnel in the right thigh
Hamza Khaled Saleh Ba Zihyad, 10, hit by shrapnel in the chest
Saleh Ali Omar Ba Ziyad, 14, hit by shrapnel in the thigh
Merouan Nasser Ahmed Suleiman Ba Btah, 14, hit by shrapnel in the right foot
Abdallah Muhammed Muhammed Ba Qtiyan, 14, hit by shrapnel in the back
Saleh Abdelfattah Abdallah Haymid Ba Qtiyan, 12, hit by shrapnel in the back
Another of the victims was a woman by the name of Samira Hamadi Al-Wisabi, aged 48. Her son Nadir, aged 14, recalls: “My mother suffered paralysis during the bombing.”
China Daily reported that: “Medics told Xinhua anonymously that eight civilians were injured during the air strike and had been brought to treatment in a nearby hospital.” and further quoted a local resident who told the news agency: “Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the bombing area following the air raid”.
Yemen Fox also reported on the incident and claimed that the attack targeted Al Qaeda leader Nasser al Wahaisihi, also known as Abu Naseer. It quoted a local who said that a local named Seleh al-Senh (likely the same as the civilian above) was killed and three children injured.
A year later a report by Alkarama investigated the incident and revealed that Mohamed Saleh Al-Suna (60) who was passing by was killed and six children were injured due to the attack. Amin Ali Hassan Al-Wisabi (13) was quoted saying: “I was sitting with my friends there, and we were going to play football, when suddenly we were shaken by the sound of a violent explosion. I looked in front of me and saw a car burning. A missile had struck it. Shrapnel hit me in my foot, but I didn’t feel any pain, and I ran towards the house with blood flowing from my injury. I saw the car burning beside me and one of my friends lost consciousness. Someone came with a car and took us to the hospital.”
The Long War Journal stated that the US aircraft targeted a vehicle driving in Azzan, allegedly transporting senior AQAP leaders after leaving a mosque after a Friday prayer. The Journal reported that a Yemeni official told the associated press that” 4 AQAP fighters were killed and three critically wounded”.
Boston News added that the three injured militants were brought to the Al Qaeda-run hospital in Shabwa.
Contrary to the Journal and Boston News, Reuters, Aljazeera and Zeennews claim the death of five AQAP militants. Reuters claims that “at least five suspected Al Qaeda militants travelling in a car in southern Yemen’s Shabwa province were killed when a drone strike set their vehicle on fire” while the Alkarma report states the death of two militants. A tweet from @BaFana3 quoted local sources who said that Fahd AlQuso was killed in the strikes. However, he was not killed in this strike – he was killed by another US drone strike in May 2012.
All of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the casualties to a US drone strike.
Reuters revealed that as retaliation and as a reaction to the attack, a gunman believed to be connected to the militants killed and blew up a gas pipeline which ”transports gas to a facility whose leading stakeholder is French oil major Total at Balhaf port on the Arabian Sea” energy workers said.
The incident occured at 16:00:00 local time.