Geolocation
Airwars assessment
A US drone strike reportedly targeted alleged AQAP militants travelling in a car near Al-Adwas, Hadramout governorate, likely overnight from April 2nd to April 3rd. There are no known associated reports of civilian harm.
Several sources including YN News reported that AQAP militants were targeted, and one specified that they were targeted while in a car. No known sources mentioned numbers of militant casualties, if any, due to the strike.
No sources specified the time at which the strike took place, though almost all were published early on April 3rd 2017, indicating that the strike likely took place overnight from April 2nd to 3rd.
This reported event took place amid a dramatic intensification of US operations against AQAP in March 2017. On April 3rd 2017, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis said that, since February 28th 2017, 70 US airstrikes were conducted in Yemen.
The incident was first reported on April 3, 2017 at 2:14 am by @saleh_binali.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention a vehicle being struck in the vicinity of Al Adwas (الأدوس) village, at a location west of Aqabat Abdullah Gharib (عبدالله غريب) and north of Mukalla (المكلا) city. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Aqabat Abdullah Gharib are: 14.846981, 49.159258.
Summary
Sources (9) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
The U.S. military conducted airstrikes over eastern Yemen during the weekend, targeting the sites of extremist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, director of Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters today.
“We continue to target [al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] in Yemen, and this is done in the interest of disrupting a terror organization that presents a very significant threat to the United States,” Davis said.
Strikes Target Terrorists
During the weekend in Yemen’s Shabwah governorate, the precision airstrikes targeted al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists, as well as the terrorists’ infrastructure, fighting positions and equipment, the spokesman said.
The airstrikes follow the late-January U.S. raid in Yemen during which a U.S. service member died. From Feb. 28 through last week, some 50 airstrikes were conducted, Davis noted.
The weekend airstrikes, which were largely unmanned, bring the total to 70, he said.