(Previous Incident Code: YEMT080)

In an email to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US Central Command confirmed that a strike had targeted three “AQAP terrorists” in Shabwa on April 29th. This confirmed earlier reports that a US drone strike had killed at least two alleged AQAP militants travelling in a Vitara car in the Tamoura area, in the Al Rawdah district of Shabwa governorate, on the afternoon of April 29th 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm.

Sources differed over the number of alleged militants killed in the strike. One local language Twitter source said that one died and another survived the strike. Several sources, including Al-Arabi, reported that two were killed, while one source reported four dead. Most reports indicated that three people had died in the strike.

Yemen Shabab and some other sources reported that two were killed instantly, while another was hospitalised in Azzan and later died of his wounds.

Several sources reported that AQAP leader Abu al-Qaqa Barhama was among the fatalities. According to one outlet, pro-AQAP sources named the others as Shihab al-Hajji and Abu al-Bara’ al-Baydani.