Geolocation
Airwars assessment
At least one civilian, a child, was killed by alleged US drone strikes on a vehicle traveling in the Harib district of Shabwa governorate of Yemen on January 26, 2015. Sources said the victims died when a drone struck the vehicle they were travelling in central-southern Yemen. The combatant status of one of the victims is contested, while the third man killed has been identified by local sources as being a militant.
Sources from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) told reporters the dead were members of the armed group and identified them as: Awaid al-Rashidi, a Saudi in his 30s; Abdel Aziz al-Zindani (aka Abdel Aziz al Sanaani) a Yemeni from Sanaa; and Mohammed Taeiman al-Jahmi, a Yemeni.
Al-Rashidi reportedly served time in a Saudi jail before joining al Qaeda after his release. He and al Sanaani were “said to be engaged in anti-Houthi activities” though it was not immediately clear what this means.
A Houthi source told the New York Times: “[The US] killed militants who were probably planning an attack against us in Marib.” However Jeremy Scahill reported the two men were responsible for drumming up anti-Houthi sentiment and support by spreading propaganda. He said they were “low-level” figures.
It subsequently emerged that al-Jahmi was a child. He was reportedly either 12 or 15 years old. In a photograph found on Twitter, al-Jahmi can be seen raising the ASAQ flag, which may account for why the group categorised him as a member. However, there is no actual evidence to suggest al-Jahmi was involved in any militant activities. Yemeni rights group the National Organisation for Drone Victims (NODV) said Taeiman was “a normal kid”. He was in the sixth grade at school and had recently received treatment in hospital after being kicked by a camel, the group added. Taeiman’s father, Saleh Qaid Taeiman, and his 14/16-year old brother Jalal were killed and another of Mohammed’s brothers named Azzedine was injured in an alleged US drone strike on October 14 2011 (USYEM041-C). Speaking to The Guardian about the deaths of his father and brother the month before he was killed, Mohammed explained his fear of drones, the “death machines” in the sky: “I see them every day and we are scared of them”.NODV also raised questions about the status of another passenger in the car. It told Reuters al Zindani was “a farm worker married to a woman from the Taeiman clan”.
The strike was carried out by the CIA, according to an unnamed US official who spoke with the Wall Street Journal. The vehicle was a four-wheel drive vehicle according to pictures purportedly of the aftermath of the strike. It was reportedly a Suzuki Vitara.
20 May, 2025: This incident has been edited to include Mohammed’s words to The Guardian and to include and explain the Twitter image showing al-Jahmi with the AQAP flag.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
The victims were named as:
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the district of Harib (حريب) in the Shabwa Governorate (شبوة), for which the generic coordinates are: 14.901509, 45.379398. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (51) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (15) [ collapse]
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The vehicle struck by an alleged US drone strike in the border area between Marib and Shabwa governorates, Jan 26, 2015 (via Aden Al-Ghad)
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A further view of the destroyed vehicle (Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2015)
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Vehicle destroyed in an alleged US drone strike in the area of Hareeb, governorate of Shabwa, on Jan 26, 2015 (via Al Masdar Online)
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Vehicle destroyed in an alleged US drone strike in the area of Hareeb, governorate of Shabwa, on Jan 26, 2015 (via Al Masdar Online)
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Vehicle destroyed in an alleged US drone strike in the area of Hareeb, governorate of Shabwa, on Jan 26, 2015 (via Al Masdar Online)
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
A body killed in an alleged US drone strike in the area of Hareeb, governorate of Shabwa, on Jan 26, 2015 is covered in a sheet (via Al Masdar Online). -
Source: Aden Al-Ghad
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Source: Aden Al-Ghad
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Source: National Organization for Drone Victims
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This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Source: National Organization for Drone Victims -
Source: @abn_ataq
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Source: @abn_ataq
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source @Ndawsari