(Previous Incident Codes: YEM128C USYEM147 )

On May 24th 2013, a suspected Saudi or US airstrike killed up to five alleged Al Qaeda militants in the Jawf province near the Saudi-Yemeni border in a late Friday evening attack. There are currently no known reports of civilian harm.

A tribal source told Sanaa-based journalist Adam Baron that the strike targeted Qassim al Raymi. However, it appeared the senior AQAP militant knew he was being tracked and the targeted vehicle was empty.

Al Masdar quoted residents saying that they heard the strike at night but “that they had not found the location of the raid or any information about victims of the bombing.” Similarly, Mareb Press reported that the strike failed to hit the target and is believed to have left no casualties. Aden Al-Ghad in contrast reported that the strike on Friday evening led to the “total destruction of a car and all of the bodies inside.” A tribal source said that the number of persons is unknown, though they are believed to be Al Qaeda field commanders. Yemen Press quoted local sources saying that two missiles destroyed the car and that “casualties were expected in the raid.” Twitter user @YusufYerkel wrote that “scores of Al Qaeda affiliated fighters were killed” in the strike and @regaluallahpres claimed that the raid killed five people.

Another source told Yemeni media that Saudi jets attacked and missed a convoy of cars thought to be carrying Al Qaeda members. However the source alleged the strike was associated with ongoing border and oil disputes between Sanaa and Riyadh. Other media reports attributed the strike to the US. However journalists in Yemen and the US discussed possible Saudi involvement on social media. They urged caution, pointing out Yemenis ‘tend to assume bombs falling from [the] sky come from US drones’.