Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Police arrest Australian woman suspected of Islamist ties; U.S. navy announces rescue of Yemeni ship, crew from pirates; al Houthi rebels, pro-government tribesmen clash

Horn of Africa: Fighting between al Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a in northern Galgudud kills 24; Somali pirates hijack Panama-flagged cargo ship; Hizb al Islam denies Beledweyne pullout, government secures strategic positions in town; al Shabaab flogs man for extramarital sex in Baidoa

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemeni intelligence services arrested an Australian woman in Sana’a on suspicion of ties to al Qaeda on May 15, her lawyer said Wednesday. The woman, Shyloh Jayne Giddens, converted to Islam in Yemen.  Police placed her children under house arrest.[1]

• The US Navy announced Monday that one of its cruisers rescued a Yemeni ship and its five-man crew from Somali pirates on May 26.[2]

• Sources from the Bani Awair tribe report that ten people were killed and fourteen others injured in clashes with the al Houthi rebels.  Reportedly, the rebels attempted to seize a school.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Fighting between al Shabaab, Hizb al Islam and Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a troops killed 24 people and wounded 50 others Tuesday in northern Galgudud. The rebel militants attacked pro-government forces at the towns of Marergur and Gadon, and despite an inconclusive result, both sides maintained their positions. An Ahlu Sunna spokesman claimed the Islamists sought to capture Dhusa Mareb.[4]

• Somali pirates captured a Panama-flagged ship and its crew Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden.  The pirates were armed with rocket-propelled grenades.[5]

• Hizb al Islam militants denied reports that they had withdrawn their positions in Beledweyne as government forces secured key locations within the town, including its airstrip and the central Eel Gaal village.[6]

• Al Shabaab administrators in Baidoa flogged a man convicted of sexual intercourse outside of wedlock.[7]