Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthis sign aviation agreement with Iran; suspected U.S. airstrike targets AQAP members in Shabwah; Ansar al Sharia militants clash with al Houthis in al Bayda; IED kills 15 al Houthi militants in al Bayda

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab IED attack in Mogadishu; SNA and AMISOM forces attack al Shabaab in Bakool region; car bomb kills Puntland official in Mudug

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Houthi leaders signed an aviation deal with Iran on February 28. The agreement allows Yemeni Airways and the U.S.-sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air to operate 14 flights a week between the two countries. An al Houthi political leader flew to Tehran on March 1 to discuss economic cooperation between al Houthi-controlled Yemen and Iran.[1]

• A suspected U.S. airstrike killed three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members in Bayhan, Shabwah on February 28. AQAP has had freedom of movement in Bayhan since temporarily seizing a military base there on February 12.[2]

• Ansar al Sharia militants clashed with al Houthi forces in al Bayda on February 27. Ansar al Sharia attacked al Houthi sites in al Majari and Rada’a and assassinated another al Houthi in al Bayda city. Ansar al Sharia claimed to have killed 18 al Houthis during fighting.[3]

• Tribal militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Zahir, al Bayda on March 1. The explosion targeted an al Houthi site and reportedly killed 15 al Houthis.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab carried out an IED attack on a car carrying two police officers in Mogadishu on February 28. The two officers sustained injuries but survived the attack. Al Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack.[5]

• Somali National Army (SNA) and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces attacked al Shabaab militants in the village of Elbar, Bakool region on February 28. A government official reported that eight militants and three soldiers died in the fighting.[6]

• A car bomb detonated in Galkayo, Mudug region killing a Puntland security official on March 1. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but al Shabaab has targeted Puntland officials in the past.[7]