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Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: YEM214 )
AQAP fighters have vowed revenge after “regional emir” Jalal Balaidi (aka Abu Hamza) – pictured right – was killed by an overnight US drone strike.
Al Qaeda fighters raised their flag and fired weapons in the air in the port city of Zinjibar after the news emerged. The attack hit in Abyan province as Balaidi was driving from the neighbouring Shabwa province with two bodyguards.
Relatives, tribal sources, Yemeni security officials, and AQAP sources confirmed Balaidi died in the attack.
The US put out a $5m reward for “information that brings [Balaidi] justice” through its Rewards for Justice programme. It said he was responsible for planning a 2013 attacks on “Western diplomatic officials and facilities in Sanaa using explosives”. He was described as a “regional emir, responsible for multiple governorates”.
Two of Balaidi’s guards were also reportedly killed in the strike which hit the Maraqesha area of Abyan province.
Lebanon’s Daily Star, however, put the death toll higher, reporting that five others were killed inside the car that was struck.