Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terrorism.
Government crackdown against al-Qaeda cells began in 2001, escalating steadily until 14 January 2010, when Yemen declared open war on al-Qaeda. In addition to battling al-Qaeda across several provinces, Yemen was forced to contend with a Shia insurgency in the north and militant separatists in the south. Fighting with al-Qaeda escalated further during the course of the 2011 Yemeni revolution, with Jihadists seizing most of the Abyan Governorate and declaring it an Emirate. A second wave of violence began in early 2012, with militants claiming territory across the southwest amid heavy combat with government forces.
On 16 September 2014, a full-scale civil war erupted after Houthi fighters stormed Sana'a and ousted interim President Hadi, fracturing the Yemeni government between the UN recognized government of President Hadi and the Houthis' newly formed Supreme Political Council. The full-scale civil war led to a rise of Islamist Groups, insurgencies, and call for separation of South Yemen.
Background
Since 2002 or before, Yemen came under pressure to act against al-Qaeda from the United States. This was because attacks on both were often conducted by militants based in Yemen.Al-Qaeda had also had a long history of operation in Yemen. The bin Laden family originated from Hadhramaut and so Osama bin Laden had strong attachments to the country. Bin Laden recruited many Afghan Arabs to fight in the Soviet–Afghan War from North Yemen. After the war he made an offer to send al-Qaeda to overthrow the Communist government of South Yemen but Prince Turki bin Faisal turned him down. Bin Laden was upset when Saudi Arabia and the United States soon afterwards accepted a Yemeni unification agreement in which the Yemen Socialist Party leaders would continue to serve in the government. He responded by committing assassinations of YSP leaders which destabilized the country. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh complained to King Fahd about al-Qaeda's operations, and Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz rebuked bin Laden and confiscated his Saudi passport. In the 1990s North Yemeni Soviet-Afghan War veterans formed the al-Qaeda-aligned Aden-Abyan Islamic Army.
Previous attacks linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen include the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, the 2008 American Embassy attack, and several other attacks against foreign tourists.
Yemen had intensified operations against al-Qaeda in late 2009, when a Yemen-based wing of the group claimed to be behind the failed 25 December 2009 attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, itself a retaliation against an attack against a training camp in Abyan on 17 December, resulting in the deaths of multiple civilians. News reports have indicated substantial American involvement in support of Yemeni operations against al-Qaeda since late 2009, including training, intelligence sharing, "several dozen troops" from the Joint Special Operations Command, and limited direct involvement in counter-terrorism operations.
Timeline
"The United States.. sought to counter Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula through a campaign of airstrikes that began in late 2009." Drone attacks were flown bases outside Yemen by Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA. Many of these attacks were launched from Djibouti - Camp Lemonnier/Djibouti International Airport.2009
On 15 March, 4 South Korean tourists were killed in Shibam, Hadhramaut by a suicide bomber. 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.On 17 December, the U.S. carried out air raids on what officials suspected was an AQAP training camp in al-Majalah, a village in Abyan governorate. The attacks reportedly killed 50 people, including women and children, and injured 60 more according to locals. Yemeni and U.S. officials both distanced themselves from the attack in the aftermath. A Yemeni inquiry into the raid uncovered that the attacks ultimately killed 55 people; 14 AQAP fighters and 41 civilians.
On 24 December, a U.S. airstrike in Shabwah governorate reportedly killed over 30 AQAP members.
2010
On 6 January, Yemeni forces arrest three AQAP members in Sana'a who were wounded in a raid carried out two days before.On 13 January, Yemeni security forces battled AQAP in Habban district, Shabwah governorate. Yemeni forces had surrounded the residence of AQAP cell leader Abdullah Mehdar, leading to clashes within the district. AQAP fighters ambushed an army unit travelling on a nearby road in order to divert attention from Medhar, killing 2 soldiers. Medhar was eventually killed in the battle, while 4 AQAP members were arrested.
On 14 January, Yemeni airstrikes targeted AQAP vehicles travelling between Saada and al-Jawf governorate, reportedly killing 6 senior leaders. AQAP later denied any of their deaths.
On 8 February, AQAP 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.
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. 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.
First Battle of Lawdar
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.Battle of Huta
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. 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.On 24 November 2010, an AQAP suicide bomber attacked a Houthi convoy celebrating the day of Ghadir in al-Matun district, al-Jawf, killing 17 people and injuring 30 others. On 26 November, AQAP bombed a convoy in Sahar district, Saada, heading to the funeral of Badreddin al-Houthi, killing one person and injuring eight.
2011
On 7 January, 12 soldiers were killed in an AQAP ambush in Lawdar, Abyan. The next day, AQAP fighters attacked a military checkpoint in Lahij governorate, killing 4 soldiers.On 6 March, AQAP claimed responsibility for two attacks which killed 5 Yemeni soldiers altogether. 4 soldiers, part 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.
AQAP took advantage of the chaos caused by the Yemeni revolution to seize significant territory in the southern Abyan governorate. On 28 March, AQAP seized the town of Jaʽār, Abyan after army forces withdrew from the city after clashing with the militants over the weekend. The next day, a massive explosion in a weapons factory near the town killed 150 people. On 25 March, 3 AQAP militants were killed by security forces in Lawdar. On 26 March, 5 AQAP fighters died after attacking a military checkpoint in Lawdar. On 31 March, AQAP declared an "Islamic Emirate" in Abyan, reportedly seizing most of the governorate by the time of their announcement.
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.
Battle of Zinjibar
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. Ansar al-Sharia entrenched itself into the city in the following days, repelling attempts by the military to enter the city on 31 May and on 7 June, and forcing 2 brigades to retreat on 21 June. 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. 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.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.
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.
On 30 September, American-Yemeni cleric and alleged AQAP member Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the town of Khashef, al-Jawf governorate, while travelling in a vehicle. 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. The U.S. 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. 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.
On 12 December a prison break in Aden freed up to 15 AQAP members. The prisoners had escaped via a 40-metre long tunnel.