Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: AQAP threatens UAE and Israeli nationals over normalized relations; Saudi-led coalition intercepts al Houthi drone targeting airport in Saudi Arabia; Hadi government–aligned forces attempt to advance toward al Jawf governorate’s capital; al Houthis announce suspending UN and humanitarian flights to Sana’a airport

Horn of Africa: AFRICOM confirms death of al Shabaab commander from August airstrike; al Shabaab conducts SVBIED attack targeting US-Somali convoy in Lower Jubba region; ISCA claims inflicting 20 Tanzanian force casualties in northern Mozambique; al Shabaab attacks police station in Middle Shabelle region

 Yemen Security Brief:

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement threatening UAE and Israeli nationals following rumored local reports of a joint UAE-Israeli “spy” base in southern Yemen’s Socotra archipelago. A senior AQAP official condemned the recent normalization of UAE-Israeli relations in late August.[1]

Saudi-led coalition forces intercepted al Houthi drones targeting Abha airport in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Asir region on September 9. The al Houthi movement has launched drone and missile attacks targeting the airport daily since September 6.[2]

Forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi claimed launching an attack on al Houthi militants in northern Yemen’s al Jawf governorate on September 9 in an effort to advance toward al Hazm city, the capital of al Jawf governorate. Al Houthi militants seized al Hazm city in March.^[3]

The al Houthi movement announced on September 7 that it would suspend UN and humanitarian flights to Sana’a airport in the Yemeni capital on September 9. The al Houthi movement cited fuel shortages caused by the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade on Yemen as a reason for this suspension. The first UN medical flight since 2017 left Sana’a airport in February.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed the death of senior al Shabaab commander Abdul Qadir Commandos that an AFRICOM airstrike killed near Saakow town in southern Somalia’s Middle Jubba region on August 25. AFRICOM previously conducted an airstrike targeting an al Shabaab militant known for his bomb-making expertise in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on August 20.[5]

Al Shabaab conducted a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack targeting a military outpost in Janaa Cabdalle area, roughly 30 miles west of Kismayo city in Lower Jubba region on September 7. The explosion killed three Somali soldiers, wounded two others, and one US soldier. An AFRICOM official said that at least one al Shabaab militant died during the attack. Al Shabaab claimed the attack, saying it would concentrate on targeting “American crusaders.” Somali National Army (SNA) forces recaptured Janaa Cabdalle in Lower Jubba region from al Shabaab militants on September 5.^[6]

The Islamic State’s Central Africa Province (ISCA) claimed repelling a joint Mozambican-Tanzanian armed force attack on Mocimboa da Praia city in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province on September 5. ISCA claimed inflicting 20 Tanzanian force casualties. Islamic State–aligned militants captured Mocimboa da Praia in mid-August.^[7]

Al Shabaab militants attacked a police station in Balad town in central Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region on September 8. A Somali government spokesperson claimed the attack killed one Somali police officer and wounded seven civilians. Somali security forces claimed killing 14 al Shabaab militants in the attack. Somali police thwarted an al Shabaab attack in Balad town in mid-June.[8]