Geolocation
Airwars assessment
An alleged U.S. drone strike killed four to five alleged AQAP militants and injured five others traveling in a car along an outpost in the Al-Ghunaim area of Shuria district in Al-Bayda Province on 13 March 2012. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.
Yemeni security officials stated that the strike was conducted by a U.S. Predator or Reaper aircraft, although other Yemeni officials claimed it was a U.S. fighter jet. American military and intelligence officials did not confirm or deny the air strike. CNN reported that the strike appeared to be the work of the US, due to its precision nature.
Yemeni officials claimed that AQAP leader Nasser al-Zafar was killed in the strike, although other Yemeni sources claim al-Zafar was killed in a clash with Yemeni security forces after the strike.
Six air raids by the Yemen Air Force were also reported in nearby Jaar, as militant group Ansar al Sharia carried out a suicide bombing in revenge, it said, for recent US drone strikes.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention that a car outside the town Al Bayda (ٱلْبَيْضَاء) was targeted. The generic coordinates for the town of Al Bayda (ٱلْبَيْضَاء) are: 13.986325, 45.571973. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.