(Previous Incident Code: YEM217 )

US drones killed four alleged AQAP fighters diving through Shabwah province in southern Yemen. The strike destroyed the vehicle – photographs purportedly taken of the aftermath showed shrapnel thrown far from the wreckage.

A local military official said: “The US drone pounded a four-wheel-drive vehicle carrying al Qaeda operatives in the tribal district of Radhum in Shabwa province, killing about four terrorists at the scene.” A tribal source told Xinhua that “four charred bodies of al Qeda gunmen were found scattered around the bombing site after the airstrike.”

The attack hit near an oil terminal to the west of Mukalla, the capital of neighbouring Hadramout province. The city became a hotbed of al Qaeda activity after the group took control there in April 2015. A number of US drone strikes last year hit Mukalla, killing a number of senior AQAP figures.