Geolocation
Airwars assessment
An airstrike on a car targeted Fahd al Qusaa, also known as Quso, an al Qaeda leader and suspect in the USS Cole bombing. It was a US attack, according to the New York Times quoting an AQAP representative. He claimed that Qusaa had left the car minutes earlier and was unharmed.
According to the Long War Journal, Qusaa was being sheltered by the Awlaki tribe, and was allegedly involved in the failed AQAP airline bombing attack over Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009. Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabyee claimed that the car was travelling between Shakra and Zinjibar in Abyan Province.
This incident was identified by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and has been included in Airwars’ database even though no casualties are mentioned.
The incident occured around dawn.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck between the village of Shaqra (شقرة) and the city of Zinjibar (زنجبار ). Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for this middle point are: 13.2476458, 45.530709.