Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Multiple reports stated that Yemeni military officials acknowledged that a drone strike killed at least two suspected militants, as missiles struck two cars travelling between the Marib and Hadramout provinces in eastern Yemen on August 28th, 2012. While American drones have been utilized in this area, Yemeni military officials did not specify the nation involved.
The strike generated a wide array of reports on Twitter. Anawen.net (@anaweny) tweeted an image of the charred automobile, while shababhor.net (@shbab7or) reported that three suspected militants were killed, including one individual described as “a leader”. Ain News tweeting as @Ainyemen announced that a Saudi national, Salam al-Saiari was among those who were killed in the strike. Yemen Post also reported on the death of al-Saiari as part of a drone strike that killed two people inside of a car that was significantly burned, adding that the area where the strike occurred was “unpopulated.” @NoonArabia tweeted that the strike was carried out by an American drone, and this was supported by Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabyee who reported that those who were killed were suspected Yemeni and Saudi Al Qaeda operatives. Gregory D Johnson, tweeting from @gregorydjohnson, noted that one car did escape from the attack.
The Xinhua News Agency from China reported that a U.S. drone strike killed three suspected Al Qaeda members, according to a Yemeni military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, who also noted that the Saudi national who was killed had allegedly joined Al Qaeda in 2011.
Saba, the Yemeni news agency, stated that the destroyed vehicle was “loaded with large quantities of weapons and explosives”. The attack as described as killing “two dangerous elements”.
Reuters released a report the day after the strike and specifically credited that the United States owned the drone that was used in the strike. Three missiles were allegedly launched with one missile striking a car, leaving two charred bodies that were pulled from the vehicle. The Yemeni government described the individuals killed as “Islamic militants”.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention that two vehicles were targeted on the main road in the desert between Ma’rib (مَأْرِب) and Hadhramout (حضرموت) governorates. Sources point to the Qahb Al Hisan area and the Al Abr (حصن العبر) district of Hadhramout (حضرموت) governorate. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of Qahb Al Hisan. However, the generic coordinates for Al Abr (حصن العبر) district are: 15.870972, 47.265272.