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Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, romanized: Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit. 'Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula' or تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, "Organization of Jihad's Base in the Arabian Peninsula"), abbreviated as AQAP,[7] also known as Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen (Arabic: جماعة أنصار الشريعة, Jamā‘at Anṣār ash-Sharī‘ah, "Group of the Helpers of the Sharia"),[36] is a Sunni Islamist insurgent extremist group, which is part of the al-Qaeda network and primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.[7][37] It is considered the most active[38] of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.[39]

The group established an emirate during the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, reaching its peak in 2015 after capturing the provincial capital of Mukalla. Its strength has since waned after internal struggles and foreign interventions in the subsequent Yemeni Civil War, and by the late 2010's they would only operate substantially in their strongholds, Abyan and al-Bayda governorates.[40] Despite their losses, AQAP still remains as one of al-Qaeda's strongest affiliates. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations, United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE and several other countries.

Ideology

AQAP advocates for the overthrowal of Saudi and Yemeni governments and the establishment of an Islamic state in the Arabian Peninsula.[41] In 2010, it was believed to have several hundred members.[5] The group also seeks for the destruction of the Israeli state and the liberation of the Palestinian territories.[15]

Formation

President Ali Abdullah Saleh facilitated the entrance of former Afghan mujahideen into Yemen in the late 1980's to fight in the civil war.

During the late 1980's, President of the Republic of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh utilized thousands of Yemeni former mujahideen from the Soviet-Afghan war to fight for the Yemen Arab Republic during the Yemeni civil war of 1994, and to neutralize southern secessionists after it. A group of Yemenis who had trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan formed Islamic Jihad in Yemen, which operated from 1990 to 1994. Other such al-Qaeda aligned groups included the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army and al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY).[42]

On 12 October 2000, two AQY suicide bombers drove a rubber dinghy loaded with explosives into the side of the USS Cole while it was docked at the Port of Aden, blowing a hole in the side of the ship and killing 17 members of the crew, as well as injuring 40.[43] This same tactic was used on 6 October 2002, when the MV Limburg was bombed while approaching the Mina al-Dabah port, killing 1 crew member and wounding 12.[44][45]

After the September 11 attacks, Saleh was heavily pressured by the US government into cracking down on al-Qaeda groups in the country. Saleh obliged, and by the end of 2003, AQY and other al-Qaeda affiliates were shells of their former selves.[42] In February 2006, 23 al-Qaeda members escaped imprisonment in Sana'a through digging a 140-metre long tunnel. The escapee's would end up rebuilding al-Qaeda's footprint within the country over the next few years.[46][42] Al-Qaeda maintained a presence in Yemen, evident by multiple high profile attacks in the country such as the 2007 Marib car bombing[47] and the 2008 attack on the United States embassy in Sana'a.[48]

After initial success through early operations such as the 2003 Riyadh bombings,[49] murder of Paul Marshall Johnson Jr. in 2004,[50] 2004 Khobar massacre,[51] and the 2005 Qatar theatre bombing,[52] al-Qaeda of Saudi Arabia's remnants had been forced to flee to Yemen by late 2008 due to extreme pressure by the Saudi government. Al-Qaeda of Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda in Yemen merged in January 2009 to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[42] Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of the Yemeni branch, was confirmed to be the new emir of AQAP by Ayman al-Zawahiri.[53]

Transformation into an active al-Qaeda branch

The number of terrorist plots in the West that originated from Pakistan declined considerably from the majority of them (at the outset), to 75% in 2007, and to 50% in 2010, as al-Qaeda shifted to Somalia and Yemen.[54]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton formally designated AQAP a terrorist organization on 14 December 2009.[55] On 24 August 2010, The Washington Post journalist Greg Miller wrote that the CIA believed Yemen's branch of al-Qaeda had surpassed its parent organization, Osama bin Laden's core group, as al-Qaeda's most dangerous threat to the U.S. homeland.[56]

On 26 August 2010, Yemen claimed that U.S. officials had exaggerated the size and danger of AQAP, insisting also that fighting the jihadist network's local branch remained Sanaa's job.[57] A former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden warned of an escalation in fighting between AQAP and Yemeni authorities and predicted the government would need foreign intervention to stay in power.

However, Ahmed al-Bahri told the Associated Press that attacks by AQAP in southern Yemen was an indication of its increasing strength.[58] CNN analyst Paul Cruickshank asserted that several U.S. officials viewed AQAP as the branch of al-Qaeda which posed the most serious threat to American interests in the region.[41]

Operations and activities in Yemen

2009

In January, the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni al-Qaeda branches merged to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen, and many of its members were Saudi nationals who had been released from Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[59] Saleh released 176 al-Qaeda suspects on condition of good behaviour, but terrorist activities continued.

On 15 March, 4 South Korean tourists were killed in Shibam, Hadhramaut by a suicide bomber.[60] The Yemeni government blamed AQAP for the attack, as well as one on a South Korean delegation on 18 March that killed only the perpetrator.[61]

On orders from U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. warplanes fired cruise missiles at what officials in Washington claimed were Al Qaeda training camps in the provinces of Sana'a and Abyan on 17 December.[62] Instead of hitting Al-Qaeda operatives, it hit a village, killing 55 civilians.[63] Officials in Yemen said that the attacks claimed the lives of more than 60 civilians, 28 of them children. Another airstrike was carried out on 24 December.[64]

2010

On 8 February, deputy leader Said Ali al-Shihri called for a regional holy war and blockade of the Red Sea to prevent shipments to Israel. In an audiotape announcement he called upon Somali militant group al-Shabaab for assistance in the blockade.[65]

On 26 April, an AQAP suicide bomber attempted to assassinate the UK ambassador to Yemen, Timothy Torlot in Sana'a. Torlot was unhurt, but 3 others were injured in the attack.[66] AQAP attempted again to kill a British diplomat, Fionna Gibb, in Sana'a on 6 October. An AQAP member fired a rocket-propelled grenade at her vehicle, injuring an embassy worker and 3 bystanders. Gibb was unharmed.[67]

The Yemeni government launched an offensive on 19 August to secure the town of Lawdar, Abyan, which was an AQAP stronghold. The government announced on 25 August that they recaptured the town, reportedly killing 12 to 19 AQAP fighters and losing 11 soldiers.[68]

On 20 September, the Yemeni government ensigned the town of Huta, Shabwah, where 80 to 100 AQAP militants were reportedly in control. In the initial assault, 3 AQAP members and 2 soldiers were reported to have been killed.[69] On 22 September, 4 people were killed with another 3 injured during clashes in the town. The same day, Yemeni forces detained more than 20 gunmen presumed to be members of AQAP. The Yemeni government ended the siege on 24 September, with 5 AQAP members killed and 32 detained in total.[70]

On 24 November, a suicide bomber attacked a convoy heading to the funeral of Badreddin al-Houthi, father of Houthi founder Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, killing 1 person and injuring 8. The incident occured in Dahyun while the convoy was on their way to Saada. AQAP was suspected of conducting the attack.[71] AQAP were reported to have used civilians as human shields during the battle.

2011

On 6 March, AQAP claimed responsibility for two attacks which killed 5 Yemeni soldiers altogether. 4 soldiers apart of the Republican Guard were killed in an ambush on a convoy in Marib governorate, while an army colonel was shot and killed in Zinjibar, Abyan.[72]

On 31 March, amid the chaos caused by the Yemeni revolution, AQAP declared an "Islamic Emirate" in the southern Abyan governorate. Just days before, the group had seized the towns of 'Azzan, Ja'ar as well as many other areas within the governorate.[73]

On 13 May, an AQAP ambush on a Yemeni army convoy in Marib left at least 5 soldiers dead. The attacker had fired an RPG at the convoy.[74]

On 27 May, Ansar al-Sharia, an organization commonly understood to be an affiliate or direct extension of AQAP, captured the capital of Abyan governorate, Zinjibar. More than 200 militants seized the town, killing 16 soldiers and freeing dozens of prisoners.[75] Ansar al-Sharia entrenched itself into the city in the following days, repelling attempts by the military to enter the city on 31 May[76] and on 7 June,[77] and forcing 2 brigades to retreat on 21 June.[78] Multiple tribes changed their allegiance from the militants to the military as fighting raged on in Abyan and more civilians were displaced. The Yemeni army along with allied tribes launched an offensive on July 17 attacking the city from the west. On 22 July, the army established control over a sports stadium near Zinjibar and waged fighting near the entrance of the city, while allied tribes secured a main highway leading to the city.[79][80][81] Though the city was declared to be retaken by the government on 10 September, the government only controlled the eastern portion while Ansar al-Sharia still controlled the west. A deal was reached on 12 January 2012 to allow residents to return.[82][83]

A prison break in Mukalla occurred in mid-June, freeing 63 AQAP prisoners and killing a guard. The prison was attacked by militants with artillery, allowing the inmates to escape through a 35-metre long tunnel.[84]

On 10 August, AQAP seized the port town of Shuqrah, Abyan, quickly driving out local tribesman with a group of no more than 50 militants. The group had also seized government equipment and artillery.[85]

On 30 September, American-Yemeni cleric and alleged AQAP member Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a US drone strike in the town of Khashef, al-Jawf governorate, while travelling in a vehicle.[86] Awlaki was previously the target of a drone strike on 5 May, though he evaded the attack which instead killed 2 AQAP members in their car.[87] The US government placed Awlaki on a CIA kill list and froze his assets a year before, accusing him of inciting and directing multiple terror plots in the United States, including the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253.[88] The attack had also killed Samir Khan, an American citizen from Saudi Arabia who, along with Awlaki, was an editor and publisher of AQAP's magazine, Inspire.[89]

On 12 December a prison break in Aden freed up to 15 AQAP members. The prisoners had escaped via a 40-metre long tunnel.[90]

2012

AQAP guards standing outside of one of their buildings.

On 16 January, AQAP seized the town of Rada'a, Al-Bayda, just 100 miles south of Sana'a. A group of 200 fighters had stormed the town, freed at least 150 prisoners, killed 2 soldiers in clashes with the army and secured multiple weapons caches and military vehicles.[91] With mounting tribal pressure, the group withdrew from Rada'a on 25 January after they reached an agreement with the government to release 15 of their fighters.[92]

On 4 March, Ansar al-Sharia launched an attack on military artillery units in Dofas, a town located on the outskirts of Zinjibar. Fighters had attacked the base from the east to draw a response from the army before launching a larger attack from the west.[93] The battle killed 187 soldiers and injured at least 135, with the militants seizing weapons, heavy artillery and tanks from the military.[94]

On 9 April, AQAP attempted to gain control of Lawdar, a town close to Zinjibar that possesses an important strategic position between multiple governorates. Fighters surrounded the town before invading it, but the military and allied tribesman maintained a stiff defense. 24 militants and 14 soldiers were killed in the initial assault.[95] By 13 April at least 200 were killed in the battle, with AQAP forces suffering repeated losses within the town, forcing them to retreat to the neighbouring mountains.[96][97] Fighting resumed on 18 April when AQAP attacked the town with mortar shells, prompting air strikes from the government.[98] The army captured the nearby Yasouf mountains on 17 May, forcing AQAP forces into fleeing.[99]

The Yemeni government launched an offensive in Abyan on 11 May in order to drive out AQAP forces from key cities. Over 20 and 21 May, 33 AQAP fighters and 19 soldiers would be killed from clashes in Ja'ar.[100] On 21 May, a man wearing a belt of explosives carried out a suicide attack on military personnel preparing for a parade rehearsal in Sana'a for Unity Day. The attack killed over 90 people and injured 200 more. Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the attack as a response to the government offensive in Abyan.[101] On 24 May, AQAP launched a counter-attack on the army in Ja'ar through the Wadi Bana. The attack resulted in the deaths of 35 of their fighters, bringing the total count to 215. Yemeni forces then proceeded to take control of Wadi Bana.[102] By 3 June, Yemeni forces had pushed into central Zinjibar, while clashes were occurring near the western edge of Ja'ar.[103] On 11 June the Yemeni Air Force launched attacks on the north and west of Ja'ar, killing 16 militants, while land forces were preparing to capture a key hilltop factory overlooking the town.[104] On 12 June, both Zinjibar and Ja'an were confirmed as completely recaptured by the Yemeni government, with AQAP forces withdrawing to nearby Shuqrah.[105] On 15 June, army forces took control of Shuqrah after a battle which killed 40 militants. Shuqrah was constituted as AQAP's last major population centre in Abyan.[106][107] On 23 June, with mounting military and tribal pressure, AQAP fled Azzan into neighboring provinces. With this, AQAP lost their last stronghold in the south.[108] Mines placed by retreating AQAP forces lead to 73 civilian deaths in the liberated cities by 26 June.[109]

On 18 June, an AQAP suicide bomber assassinated Yemeni general Salem Ali Qatan in Aden. Qatan had led the Abyan offensive which expelled AQAP forces from key cities in the governorate. The assassin detonated his explosive belt next to a vehicle transporting Qatan, killing him as well as 2 other soldiers, along with injuring 12.[110]

On 10 October, AQAP gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed the US embassy's head of security, Qassem Aqlan, while he was travelling in a vehicle in Sana'a.[111]

2013

On 27 April, AQAP fighters attacked a military checkpoint in Rada'a, killing 5 soldiers and suffering 2 deaths. The same day, AQAP gunmen on a motorcycle assassinated the intelligence chief of Mukalla.[112]

On 17 July, deputy leader of AQAP Said al-Shihri was killed in a US drone strike in Saada governorate. He was speaking on his cellphone when the attack took place. Shihri had previously been declared "dead" by the Yemeni government on 10 September and on 24 January, though this was dispoven in both instances.[113][114] In this case, an AQAP message officially announced that he had died.[115]

On 19 July, a gunman shot and killed a member of the Popular Resistance Committees in Mudiyah, Abyan before fleeing. AQAP was suspected of conducting the attack.[116]

On 11 August, a suspected AQAP attack near a gas plant in Shabwah killed 5 soldiers. The attackers opened fire on a military checkpoint near the Balhaf terminal before fleeing.[117]

On 20 September, AQAP launched coordinated attacks on multiple military encampments across Shabwah, killing at least 38 and wounding dozens. A suicide bomber rammed their vehicle into one site at a base in al-Mayfa'a district after militants overpowered the guards. Firefights in another site of the base lead to more casualties. A car bomb at a base in al-Ain district exploded prematurely, leading to a heavy firefight which resulted in the militants seizing multiple soldiers and vehicles. 8 AQAP fighters were killed in the fighting.[118]

A prison break plot in Sana'a involving nearly 300 AQAP members was foiled on 22 October. The inmates attacked guards with knifes and iron bars before seizing their weapons and taking multiple guards hostage. Clashes with prison guards thwarted their attempts to flee, with the inmates releasing the hostages the next day.[119]

On 26 November, two Belarusian defence contractors were shot and killed by gunmen riding on a motorcycle. AQAP was suspected of conducting the attack. In response, the government of Sana'a banned motorcycles in the city for a two-week period.[120]

On 5 December, an AQAP attack on the Yemeni Defense Ministry in Sana'a involving a series of bombings and gun attacks killed at least 56 people.[121] After footage of the attack was aired on Yemeni television showing the destruction of a hospital within the ministry compound and the killing of medical personnel and patients, AQAP emir Qasim al-Raymi released a video message apologizing, claiming that the team of attackers were directed not to assault the hospital in the attack, but that one had gone ahead and done so.[122]

2014

On 24 March, AQAP gunmen in multiple vehicles opened fire on a military checkpoint in Hadhramaut, killing 20 Yemeni soldiers.[123]

A series of coordinated US airstrikes and Yemeni ground raids from 19 to 21 April in Abyan and Shabwah killed close to 55 AQAP members. In retaliation, AQAP killed 4 security officials over the next day.[124]

On 29 April, the Yemeni government launched an offensive against AQAP strongholds in Abyan and Shabwah governorates. The offensives specifically targeted the mountainous al-Mahfad district in Abyan and the town of 'Azzan in Shabwah, where AQAP forces had entrenched themselves after being forced out of population centres in the south. The same day, the army reported killing 8 AQAP militants and suffering 3 deaths, while an AQAP ambush on a convoy in Shabwah killed 15 soldiers.[125] On 1 May, 7 AQAP fighters, including Uzbek commander Abu Muslim al-Uzbeki were killed by fighting in al-Mahfad.[126] On 3 May, 5 militants were killed in by airstrikes in Shabwah. The next day, the military reported killing 20 AQAP members and wounding dozens more.[127] On 6 May, al-Mahfad was captured by the army after a battle which killed "dozens" of AQAP fighters, who were forced to flee.[128] By 8 May, the army had secured al-Mahfad and Azzan.[129]

AQAP fighters in Yemen, 2014.

On 9 May, at least 4 Yemeni soldiers were killed in a skirmish when a vehicle attacked the gates of the Presidential Palace in Sana'a. Authorities claimed that AQAP was responsible.[130]

On 25 June, AQAP launched an attack on Seiyun airport, Hadhramaut. Gunmen stormed the airport, killing 3 soldiers and briefly seizing it before army reinforcements resecured it, killing 6 of the militants and capturing 4.[131]

After being driven out of the southern areas of the country over the past two years, AQAP began regrouping in the eastern Hadhramaut governorate of Yemen, where they prepared for the establishment of another "emirate". On 22 July, the group began distributing leaflets across the governorate ordering people to adhere to their law.[132]

On 21 September, the Houthis took control of the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, after a brief battle with government forces. The same day, the Hadi government and the Houthis agreed to form a joint-unity government. The Shiite Houthis, whos insurgency had previously operated predominantly in northern Yemen, had now positioned themselves directly adjacent to AQAP's sphere of influence in the central and southern governorates, leading to conflict that would persist over the rest of AQAPs insurgency in Yemen.[133][134]

On 4 October, an AQAP attack in al-Bayda city killed at least 9 people. AQAP had attacked the city as they saw "sympathetic" to the Houthis.[135]

AQAP took responsibility for a suicide bombing in Tahrir Square, Sana'a, on 9 October which killed 47 people and injured at least 75 others. The Square had previously been the centre point of the revolution a month earlier.[136]

On 15 October, Houthis and AQAP forces clashed in Rada'a, killing at least 10 people. The clashes had occured after the Houthis had attempted to take control of areas surrounding the town.[137] The same day, the Houthis had seized the AQAP stronghold of Ibb.[138] Further clashes occurred on 16 October, killing another 10 Houthi fighters. AQAP also released a statement the same day claiming to have captured Odien, a small town close to Ibb, for a short time in order to not let the Houthis seize it.[139] By 27 October, the fighting had killed more than 250 people, as AQAP recruited more Sunni tribesmen against the Houthis, who at that point occupied a large portion of the city.[140] On 10 November, AQAP launched a counter attack on the Houthis in Rada'a, killing at least 30 people, while a truce was signed between AQAP and the Houthis in Odien.[141]

On 21 November, AQAP released a message rebuking the Islamic State, which had declared the established of a Yemen branch earlier in the week. Up until that point AQAP had adopted a more neutral approach to ISIS compared to other al-Qaeda branches which were in direct conflict with ISIS.[142]

On 26 November, United States Navy SEALs from DEVGRU collaborated with Yemeni special forces in a hostage rescue mission to free American journalist Luke Somers, along with multiple other hostages held by AQAP. The mission took place in northern Hadhramaut, along the border with Saudi Arabia. The team engaged AQAP in a firefight near a cave housing the hostages, killing 7 militants. The raid rescued 8 hostages of various nationalities, but they did not include Somers, who was moved to another area alongside 4 other hostages days before the raid.[143] Later in December, AQAP published a video threatening to kill Somers within 72 hours of its release. Another rescue mission subsequently occurred on 6 December in southern Shabwah. 40 SEALs backed by Yemeni special forces attempted to infiltrate the AQAP compound housing the targets, but they were spotted about 100 metres away, leading to heavy skirmishes. Upon entering the compound, 2 hostages, including Somers, were found shot, while the 3 other hostages were missing. Both hostages eventually died while being transported.[144]

On 3 December, a suicide car bomb targeted the home of the Iranian ambassador to Yemen in Sana'a, killing 3 people and injuring 17. AQAP was suspected to have done the attack, seeing that the Houthis enjoy support from the Iranian government.[145]

On 16 December, AQAP attempted a car bombing against Houthi gathering points in Rada'a. One bomb made it to the target, but another bomb came short, exploding next to a school bus. The bombings killed 31 people altogether, 20 of them children.[146]

On 31 December, a suicide bombing occured in Ibb during a Mawlid festival, killing 49 Houthi fighters and wounding 70. AQAP was predicted to be the perpetrator, seeing that the festival was organized by Houthi supporters and officials.[147]

2015

On 7 January, an AQAP car bomb exploded outside of a police academy in Sana'a, killing at least 37 people and injuring 66 others.[148]

On 5 February, AQAP announced the death of senior Sharia cleric Harith al-Nadhari to a US drone strike on 31 January. Al-Nadhari was killed while travelling in a vehicle in Shabwah along with 3 other AQAP members.[149]

President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned on 21 January, leading to the Houthis seizing the Presidential Palace a few days later and consolidating their power. After the Houthis dissolved parliament and officially established an interim government on 6 February, Hadi fled Sana'a on 21 February to Aden, where he later rescinded his abdication and labeled his government as the legitimate representatives of Yemen.[150][151] Hadi fled from Yemen on 25 March as a 10-country coalition led by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by the US government announced their intervention in Yemen in support of the internationally-recognized government and against the Houthis and AQAP.[152] Al-Qaeda's insurgency had been transitioned into Yemen's full-scale civil war, a conflict which they would exploit to gain an unprecedented amount of power. AQAP, despite their hostility to Yemen's government, decided to fight on the same side as them in order to counter the Houthis[153]

By late-March, most army and coalition forces were battling the Houthis, who were attempting to push into Aden. This gave AQAP an opportunity to make major gains in regions away from the Houthi conflict.[154] On 2 April, AQAP fighters stormed the capital of Hadhramaut governorate, Mukalla, breaching its central prison and releasing over 300 inmates, about a third of which were believed to be AQAP affiliated. Among the released included senior commander Khalid Batarfi, who led AQAP's Abyan offensive in 2011.[155] The militants had also seized key government buildings within the city, such as the presidential palace and the central bank, the latter of which they looted more than USD $1 million from. By the next day, Mukalla, the fifth-largest city in Yemen, had fallen completely to AQAP as the military was driven out by mortar fire.[156] On 4 April, the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance, a pro-government tribal militia, occupied 2 army bases and began to enter the city to battle AQAP.[157] By 7 April, AQAP had reportedly lost nearly half of the city to the tribesmen.[158] On 12 April, a U.S. drone strike in Mukalla killed multiple AQAP members, including senior cleric Ibrahim al-Rubaysh.[159] AQAP militants seized Mukalla's Rayan airport, a nearby oil terminal on the coast of the city, and the city's main army base on 16 April. The next day, the group seized a large weapons depot near the city, capturing dozens of tanks, rocket launchers and small arms. After forging a truce with the local tribes of the city, AQAP had consolidated their power in Mukalla.[160][161] Soon after, the group transferred power to a civilian council, assigning them a budget of over $4 million to maintain the city. AQAP refrained from imposing the strict Sharia law that they once imposed in their Abyan emirate, their only notable presence in the city being a police station where they mediated local disputes.[162]

By mid-June, AQAP had occupied large portions of Hadhramaut as its new emirate, and were engaging the Houthis in al-Bayda, although to a lesser amount of success. AQAP has prioritized establishing relations with the local tribes of Hadhramaut and al-Bayda in order to gain their acceptance. The largely Sunni tribes of the area see AQAP as a bulwark against the Shiite Houthis.[163] AQAP has used Mukalla and their Hadhramaut emirate in general as a headquarters and a launching pad for its activities in the rest of the country.[164]

On 7 May, AQAP released a message announcing the death of Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, who had been killed on 21-22 April from a U.S. drone strike in Mukalla along with 6 other AQAP members. The senior military strategist was in a vehicle parked next to the presidential palace when he was killed. Al-Ansi had appeared in multiple AQAP messages, including videos announcing the ransom and death of Luke Somers, and a video claiming responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shooting.[165]

On 16 June, AQAP announced the death of leader Nasser al-Wuhayshi from a U.S. drone strike on 11-12 June, along with 2 other militants. The White House labeled Wuhayshi's death a "major blow" to AQAP and the most significant loss in al-Qaeda's leadership since the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011. At the time of his death, Wuhayshi was essentially second-in-command of al-Qaeda, only behind Ayman al-Zawahiri, and was the main facilitator between all of al-Qaeda's affiliates and their allies. Qasim al-Raymi was announced to be his successor.[166][167]

A mass prison break in Taiz on 30 June lead to more than 1,200 inmates escaping, many of them AQAP members. AQAP fighters attacked the prison, provoking heavy clashes and drawing out the guards, allowing the prisoners to flee.[168]

On 31 July, an AQAP suicide car bombing in Qoton, Hadhramaut killed 9 Yemeni soldiers at an army checkpoint.[169]

Fall of Zinjibar and Jaar

On 2 December 2015, the provincial capital of Abyan governorate, Zinjibar, and the town of Jaʿār were captured by AQAP fighters. Like Al Mukalla, AQAP forces soon passed control to a civilian council, police patrols and other public services.[170]

2016

Southern Abyan Offensive

On 20 February 2016, AQAP seized the southern Abyan governorate, linking them with their headquarters in Mukalla.[171]

Liberation of Mukalla

On 24 April 2016, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces entered Mukalla and commenced operations against AQAP, liberating Mukalla in 36 hours. The operation was hailed by US Defence Secretary James Mattis as a model of fighting terrorism.[172][173]

Mukalla was then used as a base of operations by the UAE Armed Forces and Joint Special Operations Command, allowing the CIA to target AQAP strongest cells in Yemen.[174]

2017

On 29 January, DEVGRU conducted a raid in al-Ghayil, a town in the Yakla region of al-Bayda. The raid was authorized in order to collect key AQAP documents and information, as well as the possibility of neutralizing AQAP leader Qasim al-Raymi, whom UAE intelligence suggested could be present. Originally meant to be unexpected, AQAP prematurely detected the SEALs, eventually leading to a heavy firefight in the village which claimed the life of 1 American soldier and wounded 5 others. 14 AQAP fighters were killed along with "valuable information" being gathered, but al-Raymi was not killed or captured in the raid. Additionally, at least 16 civilians were killed, including the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, Nawar.[175]

On 23 May, DEVGRU conducted another raid against AQAP in Ma'rib governorate, targeting a compound of the group. The US reported the deaths of 7 AQAP members and no civilians casualties,[176] however, UK-based human rights group Reprieve reported that the raid had killed 5 civilians and wounded 6, with SEALs killing a blind villager as he walked out of his home and killing 4 more after they began arguing with them after the fact.[177]

2018

In August 2018, Al Jazeera reported that the Saudi Arabian-led coalition "battling Houthi rebels secured secret deals with al-Qaeda in Yemen and recruited hundreds of the group's fighters. ... Key figures in the deal-making said the United States was aware of the arrangements and held off on drone attacks against the armed group, which was created by Osama bin Laden in 1988."[178][179][180]

According to the Associated Press, the Saudi-led coalition "cut secret deals with al-Qaeda fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash... hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself."[181]

2019

On 7 April 2019, UAE and Security Belt forces launched a large anti-terror military campaign to clear a number of mountains and valleys located in the Mahfad town, then a key hideout of AQAP militants. UAE-backed Yemeni security forces succeeded in seizing arms and ammunition, including hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and communication equipment and AQAP militants fled to other areas.[182]

On 2 August 2019, AQAP fighters stormed a military base in al-Mahfad district, remaining for several hours before military reinforcements drove them out. The attacks killed at least 19 soldiers.[183]

On 30 August 2019, UAE airstrikes on AQAP in southern Yemen targeted a number of moving vehicles carrying AQAP members.[184]

In September 2019, AQAP took advantage and deployed across Abyan and Shabwah in southern Yemen following the UAE draw down from Yemen and increased infighting between Houthis and Hadi forces. According to a local Yemeni official, the absence of the Shabwani Elite security units, that had been trained and equipped by the UAE, enabled AQAP to gain a foothold in the turbulent Shabwah again.[185]

2020

On 31 January 2020, The New York Times reported three U.S. officials "expressed confidence" that Qasim al-Raymi was killed in an airstrike on 29 January in Yalka, al-Bayda.[186][187] His death was later confirmed by the White House on 6 February[188] and by AQAP on 23 February, with Khalid Batarfi being named his successor.[189]

On 21 April, Houthi forces uploaded a video claiming to have captured a base of Ansar al-Sharia in al-Jawf governorate, amidst a wider offensive in the region against the Yemeni government. The video appeared to show explosive belts, ammunition, AQAP flags and documents.[190]

The Houthis launched an offensive in al-Bayda governorate on 15 May as an extension of its offensive against the Yemeni government in al-Jawf. AQAP traditionally maintained a stronghold in the northwest al-Qayfa tribal area and wider al-Quraishyah District of the governorate. Due to this, AQAP shifted its main focus away from the Islamic State and towards Houthi forces, attempting to attract anti-Houthi tribes in the al-Bayda. By 11 August, the Houthis had been advancing rapidly towards northern al-Bayda,[191] and by 19 August they had claimed to secure Wald Rabi' and al-Quraishyah districts.[192] By the end of August, the Houthis had evicted AQAP out of many areas of al-Qayfa, dealing a major blow to the group.[153]

On 15 August, AQAP killed and crucified dentist Motthar al-Youssoufi in As Sawma'ah, al-Bayda, accusing him of spying for the US government.[193] On 25 August, they destroyed his clinic with explosives.[194]

2021

Since AQAP was expelled from the al-Qayfa district in the northwestern region of al-Bayda in 2020, its activities in 2021 were largely confined to the Al-Sawma'ah, Dhi Na'im and Mukayras districts in the southeast, near the borders of Abyan and Shabwah. Despite their defeat in the governorate, almost 60% of AQAP activities were reported to be in al-Bayda. The group continued their campaign of retrenchment, reporting the lowest level of activity in several years.[195]

On 4 February, a UN report indicated that Khalid Batarfi had been detained and imprisoned since October of the previous year after an operation in Ghayda City, Al-Mahrah governorate.[196] AQAP later released a video featuring Batarfi to disprove their claim.[197]

2022

Since 2022, AQAP has gradually shifted its activities towards the southern portion of Yemen after failure to regroup in the north, with more than 70% of the group's activities taking place in Abyan and Shabwah. After June 2022, there have been no recorded violent interactions between Houthi forces and AQAP. This may be the realization of a possible strategic shift within the group since 2020, whereby AQAP's main targets are now the Southern Movement and the Yemeni government, rather than Houthi forces. This change in strategy may be the result of AQAP's growing influence under Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian citizen based in Iran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[195]

AQAP kidnapped 5 workers a part of the UN Department of Security and Safety in Abyan on February 11. The group demanded a ransom and the release of numerous members imprisoned by the government of Yemen.[198] The workers were eventually released in August 2023.[199]

On 15 April, a prison break occurred in Seiyun, Hadhramaut, allowing 10 AQAP members to escape. The prisoners collaborated with a few guards and AQAP militants from the outside, staging a fight before overpowering the guards and fleeing.[200]

Large clashes occurred between AQAP and Security Belt forces on 6 May north of Dhale, Dhale governorate. AQAP members arrested by the Security Belt refused to disarm themselves once they arrived at Security Belt headquarters, leading to a battle which killed 2 Security Belt commanders and 7 AQAP fighters.[201]

On 22 June, AQAP was suspected of launching attacks in both Abyan and Shabwah Governorates that killed 10 Yemeni army soldiers altogether. An ambush on a military convoy in Abyan killed 5, while an attack on a checkpoint in Ataq, Shabwah killed another 5.[202]

In August 2022, the once-vaunted Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was shown to be greatly weakened when none of the group's leaders were deemed potential successors to Ayman al-Zawahiri as leader of al-Qaeda following his death.[203] According to a UN report published in February 2023, Al-Adel is also said to have succeeded al-Zawahiri at al-Qaeda's center, likely further expanding his influence over AQAP.[204]

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched Operation Arrows of the East after the conclusion of a larger offensive against government allies on August 22, with the goal of expelling AQAP from Abyan governorate.[205] The operation occurred amid a power vacuum within areas of Abyan which the pro-Yemeni government al-Islah party retreated from due to STC advances. The STC entered the governorate through Shuqrah and proceeded to push towards Lawdar as well as the border with Shabwah.[206] In retaliation, AQAP activities surged heavily, with the group carrying out numerous attacks against STC forces, such as an attack on the Security Belt Forces in Ahwar district on September 6 which killed 21 STC soldiers and 6 AQAP fighters.[207]

On 9 October, a roadside bomb detonated in Wadi Omran, leaving 4 Yemeni army soldiers dead along with several others injured. AQAP was responsible for the bombing, though authorities were unsure if the bomb was planted recently or before the group was defeated in the area.[208]

Current (February 2024) political and military control in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
  Controlled by Al-Qaeda (AQAP)-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia
  Controlled by Houthis
  Controlled by Saudi-backed Hadi loyalists
  Controlled by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council

2023

On 11 June, AQAP claimed responsibility for an attack on a military outpost in Shabwah, killing 2 Yemeni army soldiers and wounding 3. The attack was seen as a display of strength by AQAP despite its losses from the STC operation the previous year.[209]

On 1 August, an AQAP attack in Wadi Omran left at least 5 STC soldiers and wounded another 4. The attackers utilized mortars, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades before retreating.[210]

On 10 August, an AQAP bombing of a Security Belt convoy passing through Abyan left 3 soldiers and commander Abdullatif Al-Sayed dead.[211]

2024

In an announcement on 10 March, AQAP reported the death of emir Khalid Batarfi, along the selection of his successor Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki. The announcement did not provide a cause as to how Batarfi died, leading to speculation that he had died by natural causes.[212]

On 24 March, AQAP ambushed an STC patrol in Wadi Omran, triggering a firefight which killed 2 soldiers and wounded 4. The militants also burned the vehicle of the patrol group.[213]

On 29 April, an AQAP IED attack targeted an STC military vehicle in Mudiyah District, Abyan. The blast reportedly killed six soldiers belonging to the Southern Armed Forces and wounded 11 others.[214]

Ansar al-Sharia carried out a drone strike on UAE-backed forces in Wadi Omran. The attack was carried out with a UAV armed with a common modified air-dropped 40x53mm M430A1 pattern (HEDP) grenade on July 2024.

A suicide car bomb carried out by AQAP on 16 August against the STC targeted the military barracks of the Security Belt Backup and Support Forces' 3rd Brigade in Mudiyah, Abyan. The attack resulted in 16 soldiers killed and over 20 injured. The bombing served as the group's first suicide attack since March 2022.[215]

Operations and activities outside of Yemen

2009

On 1 June, American citizen Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly Carlos Leon Bledsoe) carried out a drive-by-shooting on a US army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing a soldier and injuring another.[216] Muhammad had moved to Yemen in 2007, accepting a job to teach English. He was arrested by Yemeni authorities in 2008 for overstaying his visa and forging Somali identification papers, potentially in order to train with al-Shabaab. He was deported back to America in 2009.[217] In a note requesting a plea deal from the judge, he claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, though authorities and the lead prosecutor suspected that he had acted alone.[218]

On 27 August, Saudi-Arabian AQAP suicide bomber Abdullah al-Asiri attempted to assassinate Saudi prince Muhammad bin Nayef at a Ramadan gathering in his home in Jeddah. Al-Asiri was sent to Saudi Arabia from Yemen, and had previously expressed his intention to turn himself in to Saudi authorities. Though al-Arisi was killed in the bombing, Nayef was only slightly injured.[219]

In the aftermath of the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas on 5 November, the FBI revealed that the shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, had communicated with Anwar al-Awlaki via emails from December 2008 to some time in 2009, though officials at the time didn't perceive it as a threat. The emails reportedly contained "social and religious guidance", but no evidence that the attack was directed by Awlaki or a foreign group.[220]

On 25 December, Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 while it approached its destination in Detroit, Michigan.[221] As it prepared to land, Abdulmutallab tried to detonate PETN explosives attached to his underwear, but the device failed to detonate properly. AQAP took responsibility for the attempted bombing on 28 December, claiming that they supplied the explosives to the perpetrator along with instructions to detonate it.[222] Abdulmutallab had previously travelled to Yemen multiple times before the incident, once in 2005 in order to study Arabic, and again in the fall of 2009, meeting with and likely planning the bombing with various AQAP members, including Anwar al-Awlaki.[223]

2010

A cargo plane bomb plot was discovered on 29 October, when two packages containing plastic explosives were found on cargo aircraft, based on intelligence received from government intelligence agencies, in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The packages originated from Yemen, and were addressed to outdated addresses of two Jewish institutions in Chicago, Illinois, one of which was the Congregation Or Chadash, an LGBT synagogue.[224] Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took responsibility for the plot.[225] It posted its acceptance of responsibility on a number of radical Islamist websites monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group and the Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, and wrote:

We will continue to strike blows against American interests and the interest of America's allies.

It also claimed responsibility for the crash of a UPS Boeing 747-400 cargo plane in Dubai on 3 September. The statement continued:

...since both operations were successful, we intend to spread the idea to our mujahedeen brothers in the world and enlarge the circle of its application to include civilian aircraft in the West as well as cargo aircraft.[225][226][227][228]

American authorities had said they believed that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the plot.[224] Officials in the United Kingdom and the United States believe that it is most likely that the bombs were designed to destroy the planes carrying them.[229]

In November, the group announced a strategy, called "Operation Hemorrhage", which it said was designed to capitalize on the "security phobia that is sweeping America." The program would call for a large number of inexpensive, small-scale attacks against United States interests, with the intent of weakening the U.S. economy.[230]

2012

American and Saudi intelligence agencies foiled an AQAP plot to smuggle a bomb onto a plane bound to the United States on 8 May. The CIA had detected the plot by mid-April, and dispatched an operative to pose as a suicide bomber for the group, requesting them to give him their explosives, which were promptly turned over to the CIA. The bomb was manufactured by Ibrahim al-Asiri.[231][232]

2015

On 7 January, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi attacked the Paris headquarters of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 French civilians and injuring another 11.[233] Before the shooting took place, the French-born brothers of Algerian descent stated they were members of "al-Qaeda in the Yemen", to an eyewitness.[234] Reports after the event indicated that the brothers had previously visited AQAP in Yemen in for several months in 2011 and 2012. On 9 January, AQAP confirmed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shooting in a speech from top Shariah cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari. The motive for the attack was to "gain revenge for the honor" of Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was mockingly depicted in a cartoon published by the newspaper.[235]

2019

On 6 December, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani attacked Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, killing 3 people and injuring 8. The Saudi-Arabian gunman was a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and was undergoing flight training at the base.[236] AQAP released a message on 2 February claiming responsibility for the shooting.[237] The FBI later confirmed these claims on 18 May 2020, after breaking into Alsharami's phone and uncovering significant connections between him and AQAP since 2015. [238]

Ansar al-Sharia

AQAP fighters in Yemen.

In the wake of the 2011 Yemeni Revolution and the Battle of Zinjibar, an Islamist insurgent organization called Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a (Arabic: جماعة أنصار الشريعة; Jamāʿat Anṣār aš-Šharīʿa), also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, emerged in Yemen and seized control of areas in the Abyan and surrounding governorates in southern Yemen and declared them an Islamist al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen. There was heavy fighting with the Yemeni security forces over the control of these territories, with Ansar al-Sharia driven out of most of their territory over 2012.[239]

In April 2011, Shaykh Abu Zubayr Adil bin Abdullah al-Abab, AQAP's chief religious figure, explained the name change as a rebranding exercise: "the name Ansar al-Sharia is what we use to introduce ourselves in areas where we work to tell people about our work and goals."[240]

On 4 October 2012, the United Nations 1267–1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the United States Department of State designated Ansar al-Sharia an alias for AQAP,[36] with the State Department describing it as an attempt to attract followers in areas of Yemen where AQAP had been able to establish territorial control and implement its interpretation of Sharia.[36]

U.S. drone strikes

US Air Force Predator drone.

A CIA targeted killing drone strike killed Kamal Derwish, an American citizen, and a group of al-Qaeda operatives (including Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi) in Yemen in November 2002. Drones became shorthand in Yemen for a weak government allowing foreign forces to have their way.[241]

On 30 September 2011, a US drone attack in Yemen resulted in the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the group's leaders, and Samir Khan, the editor of Inspire, its English-language magazine.[242] Both were US citizens.[243]

The pace of US drone attacks quickened significantly in 2012, with over 20 strikes in the first five months of the year, compared to 10 strikes during the course of 2011.[244]

Over the period 19–21 April 2014, a series of drone attacks on AQAP killed dozens of militants, and at least 3 civilians.[245][246][247][248][249] A spokesperson for the Yemeni Supreme Security Committee described the attacks, which included elements of the Yemeni army as well as US drones, as "massive and unprecedented".[250] The attacks were alleged to have targeted AQAP leadership, with a major AQAP base in Wadi al-Khayala reported to have been destroyed.[251]

From 1 through 8 March 2017, the US conducted 45 airstrikes against AQAP, a record amount of airstrikes conducted against the group by the US in recent history. The airstrikes were reported to have killed hundreds of AQAP militants.[252][253] The US continued its airstrikes afterward. Around 1–2 April 2017, the US carried out another 20 airstrikes, increasing the total number of airstrikes against AQAP in 2017 to 75, nearly double previously yearly record of 41 airstrikes in 2009.[254]

On 31 August 2019, at least 40 al-Qaeda operatives were killed in airstrike carried out by the United States on a training camp in presence of the leaders of Hurras al-Deen, Ansar al-Tawhid and other allied groups in Syria.[255]

Senior leaders

Members

The group has taken advantage of Yemen's "slow collapse into near-anarchy. Widespread corruption, growing poverty and internal fragmentation have helped make Yemen a breeding ground for terror."[293] More than two years later, on 25 April 2012, a suspected US drone strike killed Mohammed Said al-Umdah, a senior AQAP member cited as the number four in the organization and one of the 2006 escapees. He had been convicted of the 2002 tanker bombing and for providing logistical and material support.[294]

Yemeni analyst, Barak Barfi, discounted claims that marriage between the militant group and Yemeni tribes is a widespread practice, though he states that the bulk of AQAP members hail from the tribes.[295]

AQAP is a popular choice for radicalized Americans seeking to join Islamist terror organizations overseas. In 2013 alone, at least three American citizens or permanent residents — Marcos Alonso Zea, Justin Kaliebe, and Shelton Thomas Bell — have attempted to join AQAP.[296] They count among over 50 Americans who have attempted to join terrorist groups overseas, including AQAP, since 2007.[296]

Reportedly, as many as 20 Islamist British nationals traveled to Yemen in 2009 to be trained by AQAP.[297]In February 2012, up to 500 Internationalistas from Somalia's Al Shabaab, after getting cornered by a Kenyan offensive and conflict with Al Shabaab national legions, fled to Yemen.[298] It is likely that a number of this group merged with AQAP. The following is a list of people who have been purported to be AQAP members. Most, but not all, are or were Saudi nationals. Roughly half have appeared on Saudi "most wanted" lists. In the left column is the rank of each member in the original 2003 list of the 26 most wanted.

See also

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Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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