Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: unidentified gunmen kill Saudi border guards near Sa’ada governorate; AQAP publishes Abdullah Bawazir biography; al Houthis clash with Yemeni security forces in Amran; IED injures civilians in Lahij; Yemeni officers survive assassination attempt in Lahij

Horn of Africa: roadside IED targets AMISOM convoy in Lower Jubba region; AMISOM and SNA forces conduct security operation in Galgudud region

Yemen Security Brief

• Unidentified gunmen killed two Saudi border guards patrolling the border between Asir province in Saudi Arabia and Sa’ada governorate in Yemen on April 9. Reports suggested that the gunmen may have been positioned within Yemeni territory when they opened fire on the Saudi guards.[1]

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) posted a biography of deceased AQAP member Abdullah Bawazir, also known as Abu Khalid al Hadrami, to jihadi forums on April 9. Published in the fourteenth issue of the AQAP series, “Martyrs in the Peninsula,” the biography details Bawazir’s participation in the al Mukalla prison break in June 2011, as well as other jihadist activities in Iraq and Yemen.[2]

• Al Houthi rebels clashed with Yemeni security forces near an entrance to Amran city in Amran governorate on April 9. Reports indicate that clashes broke out when al Houthi rebels attempted to establish a checkpoint at the city’s entrance. At least three Yemeni soldiers were killed, according to a Yemeni security source.[3]

• A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a public market in Yafa’a district in Lahij governorate on April 10. Reports indicate that a small bus detonated the IED, and six civilians were critically injured in the explosion. The intended target of the IED remains unknown.[4]

• Two Yemeni officers survived an assassination attempt by armed gunmen in Lahij governorate on April 10.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near a Burundian AMISOM convoy in Kismayo in Lower Jubba region on April 9. Reports indicate that several AMISOM soldiers and at least five civilians were killed in the explosion, while many others were injured. After the explosion, AMISOM soldiers fired indiscriminately at civilian bystanders. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, although al Shabaab has recently claimed similar attacks in Kismayo.[6]

• AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) forces conducted security operations in the territory surrounding El Bur and Wahbo in Galgudud region on April 10. The operations, designed to root out al Shabaab militants and clear IEDs found on surrounding roads, came two days after AMISOM and SNA forces repelled an al Shabaab attack on El Bur. The results of the security operation were not immediately available.[7]