Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: National Security Bureau captures AQAP leaders in Sana’a and Hadramawt; head of Security for Sana’a announces plans to absorb al Houthi militants into regular police force; al Houthi militants gain control of territory in Ibb; AQAP militants attack al Houthi gunmen in al Bayda

Horn of Africa: Somali National Army forces ambush al Shabaab militants in Hiraan region; AMISOM and Somali National Army forces seize territory from al Shabaab in Galgudud; AMISOM forces clash with al Shabaab militants in Lower Shabelle region; Somali pirates release seven Indian sailors held captive for four years

Yemen Security Brief

• The Yemeni National Security Bureau (NSB) captured al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) member Adel al Raymi, also known as Abu Atta, in Sana’a on October 29. Al Raymi is the suspected mastermind of the October 9 bombing in Sana’a which killed 47 al Houthi militants. Additionally, Yemeni authorities captured AQAP member Hamza al Sharori and four other AQAP members of Saudi citizenship in Hadramawt on October 29.[1]

• The head of Security for Sana’a, Abdul Razzaq al Moyad, announced plans to absorb some al Houthi militants into the regular police force in a television interview on October 28.[2]

• Al Houthi militants gained control of al Radma, Ibb, a small city 150 km south of Sana’a, on October 29, after fighting with local militants for days.[3]

• Tribal militants allied to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) ambushed al Houthi gunmen in Rada’a, al Bayda on October 30, reportedly killing 27 al Houthis.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Somali National Army (SNA) forces ambushed al Shabaab militants, killing four militants, near Jalalaqsi, Hiraan region on October 30.[5]

• African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and SNA forces seized territory from al Shabaab militants near El Garas, Hiraan region on October 30. In a related operation, Ethiopian AMISOM and SNA forces repelled an al Shabaab attack in El Garas on October 29.[6]

• AMISOM forces clashed with al Shabaab militants in Marka, Lower Shabelle region on October 30.[7]

• Somali pirates released seven Indian sailors who had been held captive in Harardhere, Mudug region for four years.  The sailors were flown into Mogadishu and will travel back to India.[8]