US Predator Drone Hellfire Missiles - SUSPECTED al Qaida 10 yrs

The U.S. first said it used targeted killing in November 2002, with the cooperation and approval of the government of Yemen.^[16][17] A CIA-controlled Predator drone fired a Hellfire missile at an SUV in the Yemeni desert containing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, a Yemeni suspected senior al-Qaeda lieutenant believed to have been the mastermind behind the October 2000 USS Cole bombing that killed 17 Americans.^[16][17][18] He was on a list of targets whose capture or death had been called for by US President George W. Bush.^[16] In addition to al-Harethi, five other occupants of the SUV were killed, all of whom were suspected al-Qaeda terrorists, and one of whom (Kamal Derwish) was an American.^[16][19]
In May 2010 an errant US drone attack targeting al Qaeda terrorists in Wadi Abida, Yemen, killed five people, among them Jaber al-Shabwani, deputy governor of Maarib province who was mediating between the government and the militants. The killing so angered Shabwani's tribesmen that in the subsequent weeks they fought heavily with government security forces, twice attacking a major oil pipeline in Maarib.^[20]
On May 5, 2011, a missile fired from a U.S. drone killed Abdullah and Mosaad Mubarak, brothers who may have been militants. The missile was fired on their car and both died instantly.^[21][22] The strike was aimed at killing Anwar al-Awlaki, but al-Awlaki appears to have survived.^[23]
On 3 June 2011 American manned jets or drones attacked and killed Abu Ali al-Harithi, a midlevel al-Qaeda operative, and several other militant suspects, including Ammar Abadah Nasser al-Wa'eli, in a strike in southern Yemen.^[24] Four civilians were also reportedly killed in the strike. The strike was reportedly coordinated by American special forces and CIA operatives based in Sana.^[25] According to the Associated Press, in 2011 the US government began building an airbase near or in Yemen from which the CIA and US military plans to operate drones over Yemen.^[26][27] The Washington Post reported that the US previously used a base in Djibouti to operate drones over Yemen.^[28] The Wall Street Journal reports that a US drone base in the Seychelles could be used to operate drones over Yemen.^[29]
According to local residents and unnamed American and Yemeni government officials, on 14 July 2011 US manned aircraft or drones attacked and destroyed a police station in Mudiya in Abyan Province which had been occupied by al Qaeda militants. Yemeni media and government gave conflicting accounts on the number of casualties, estimated at between 6 and 50 killed. The same day and nearby, drone missiles reportedly hit a car belonging to Yemeni al Qaeda leader Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, but al-Quso survived the attack.^{[30][31][32][33][34]}
On 1 August 2011, US drones and reportedly Yemeni aircraft attacked three targets with bombs and missiles in South Yemen, killing 15 suspected al Qaeda militants and wounding 17 others. The locations targeted included al-Wahdah, al-Amodiah, and al-Khamilah in Abyan province. One of those killed was reportedly militant leader Naser al-Shadadi. According to the Yemen Post "At least 35 US drone attacks were reported in Yemen over the last two month."^[35][36][37]
On 24 August 2011, unidentified aircraft attacked suspected al-Qaeda militants near Zinjibar. The strikes reportedly killed 30 militants and wounded 40 others.^[38]
According to Yemeni officials as reported in the Long War Journal, US airstrikes in southeast Abyan province on 30 August to 1 September 2011 killed 30 AQAP militants. The militants were reportedly engaged in combat with Yemeni military forces.^[39]
Two airstrikes by US-operated aircraft on 21 September 2011 reportedly killed four AQAP fighters in Abyan and seven AQAP fighters in Shaqra.^[40]
On 30 September 2011, US drone-launched missiles killed four people, including Al Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, in Al Jawf Governorate. The strike also killed Samir Kahn, American-born editor of Inspire magazine. The strike marked the first known time that the US had deliberately targeted US citizens in a drone attack.^[41]
A reported drone strike in Zinjibar on 5 October 2011 killed five AQAP militants.^[42] According to Yemeni government officials, a US airstrike on 14 October 2011 killed seven AQAP militants, including Egyptian-born Ibrahim al-Bana, AQAP's media chief.^[43]
A drone strike on 22 December 2011 near Zinjibar reportedly killed Abdulrahman al-Wuhayshi, a relative of Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi. A further eight militants were reported killed in an air strike near Jaar on 17 December 2011.^[44]
An airstrike, reportedly performed by US aircraft, on 31 January 2012 near the city of Lawder in Abyan province, killed 11 AQAP militants. The dead reportedly included Abdul Monem al-Fahtani, a participant in the USS Cole bombing.^{[45][Wikipedia]}