(Previous Incident Code: YEM185 )

A possible US drone strike killed Ibrahim al Rubaish, a senior AQAP figure, according to an al Qaeda statement.

It was not clear how many other AQAP members were killed with local news website Yemen Alaan reported seven killed.

Though the first reported drone strike for more than six weeks, it was not immediately clear if it was a drone strike, coming amidst a concerted Saudi Arabian air war against the Houthi militia.

Conflict in Yemen, as of April 10 2015 (Source: UNOCHA)

An unnamed US official told the Wall Street Journal: “It’s raining bombs in Yemen right now… If you want to increase your chances of being hit by a bomb, go to Yemen.”

However the strike hit near Mukalla, an Arabian Sea port on Yemen’s southern coast and capital of the eastern Hadramout governorate. It was a region that had yet to be targeted by Saudi Arabian or allied jets, according to a situation report released April 10 by the UN’s Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The CIA and Pentagon are responsible for drone strikes in Yemen. Both declined to comment on reports of the strike or al Rubaish’s death.

This is the first reported drone strike since the situation in Yemen spiraled out of control and the US was forced to evacuate more than 100 special forces soldiers from al Anad airbase in the southern Lahj governorate.

This was widely seen as a crippling blow to the US’s counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen. However the US reportedly continued to fly drones over Yemen, tracking AQAP and in support of Saudi Arabian air strikes, vetting targets for Saudi jets. An unnamed US official told the New York Times: “We continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen, and we have capabilities postured in the area to address them.”

AQAP confirmed al Rubaish (left, from a US wanted poster) “was killed last Sunday night April 12 in a US drone strike along with a group of AQAP mujahideen.” He was a Saudi, from the Qassim region.

The New York Times reported al Rubaish had wanted to fight in Chechnya against the Russians. However while at a training camp in Pakistan in May 2001 he was directed to al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He reportedly fought at Tora Bora in Afghanistan. He was captured by Pakistani forces and turned over to the US. He arrived at Guantanamo in January 2002.

He was released from Guantanamo in 2006 into the custody of a Saudi rehabilitation centre. However he fled to Yemen in 2009 and joined AQAP. He was added to the Saudi Arabian 85 most wanted terrorist list in February 2009.

The US described him as “a senior [AQAP] sharia official since 2013” in his Rewards for Justice wanted man poster. The US put out a reward of $5m for information leading to his location being determined.

The US said he was “a senior AQAP sharia official, al Rubaish provides the justification for attacks conducted by AQAP. [He] also serves as a senior adviser for AQAP operational planning, and is involved in the planning of attacks.”

AQAP said he was “was a brave warrior in the front lines, and a good Islamic scholar as well.” He was born in 1979 and had at least one child, a daughter, “born just three months before he was captured“.