Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On the evening of December 28, 2012, an alleged US drone strike fired missiles at a moving motorcycle killed between two to four alleged AQAP militants near the town of Shaher, near the site of a strike four days earlier. An investigation by an NGO revealed that a 10 year old child was also wounded.
A child, Mawz Hassan Abdullah Hassan, 9/10 years old, was wounded in the arm and hand by the attack which hit in a residential area, Alkarama reported. His mother, Um Hassan, aged 37 stated that her son did not know exactly where his injury came from, yet the bomb fragment was identified in the hospital later. She told Alkarma “It was a Friday; we were sitting in front of our tent before lunch. My son was playing 50 m away when we heard a loud explosion without knowing where it had occurred. I went out to call my son Hassan, who ran off in the opposite direction to our home. We caught him and brought him back. His hand was bleeding profusely. We asked him what had happened and he fell. He did not know where the injury came from. We took him to the hospital where the doctor warned us that bomb fragment had hit the bone of his forearm and he needed surgery to remove the fragment…We had to pay ourselves, while we have 10 children and we are very poor. And now, two months later, Hassan complains of pain in the hand that was hit by the explosion.”In addition, a demonstration took place later in Shoheer to denounce the alleged US raid. According to news on Twitter from @hadhramoutnet, thousands of residents of the Shoheer town took part in the march against further drone strikes from the US.
There were conflicting reports of the details and deathtoll for the attack. Xinhua reported the strike took place near a hospital in Shoheer while local press reported the targeted men had been riding separate motorbikes and had been targeted in “separate attacks”. “Two members of Al Qaeda on a motorcycle died on the spot when targeted by a missile fired by a US drone,” an unnamed local official told AFP. The identities of the two killed are not disclosed yet there are reports that the alleged members were foreigners. A delegation from Swiss-based NGO Alkarma investigated the strike, reporting in July 2013 that Shoheer resident Hassan Ibrahim Suleiman told them as many as three missiles hit two motorcycles. “The three bodies were shredded. We collected the remains without knowing who they were,” he said.
The majority of the sources that reported on the incident attributed the strikes to the US, with some sources identifying airstrikes while others refer to drone strikes.
The incident occured around midday.
The victims were named as:
Summary
Sources (34) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of a victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by @majalis_hadrmut) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of a victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by @majalis_hadrmut) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of a victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by @majalis_hadrmut) -
Damage from an alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post) -
Damage from an alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by Yemen Post)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of a victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by @majalis_hadrmut) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of a victim of alleged US strikes on December 28, 2012. (Image posted by @majalis_hadrmut)
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention that the strike targeted two motorcycles near the hospital in the coastal town Shoheer (شحير). The coordinates for the hospital are: 14.686050, 49.395009. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the precise location of the strike.