Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 16, 2013

Yemen: AQAP kills security officer in Hadramawt; IED explodes in Shabwah; security forces clash with tribesmen in Taiz city

Horn of Africa: Kenyan police arrest three suspected al Shabaab militants in Garrisa; Somali police arrest three suspected al Shabaab militants in Beledweyne; al Shabaab attacks AMISOM bases in Arbacow, Lower Shabelle region; Somali soldiers shoot into crowd; Puntland raises troop readiness

Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) gunmen assassinated a security officer in Shihr, Hadramawt governorate on October 15.[1]

• An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a security checkpoint in Radum, Shabwah governorate on October 15. No one was injured.[2]

• Tribesmen loyal to Sheikh Hamoud Saeed al Mikhlafi fired on a security checkpoint at the eastern entrance to Taiz city on October 16. Security forces at the checkpoint had prevented the tribesmen from entering the city with weapons. Two security personnel were wounded and one tribesman was killed.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Kenyan anti-terror police arrested suspected al Shabaab recruiter Aden Mohamed Maalim, alias Bashir Somalia, along with Juma Waziri, alias Ras Katana, and Abdalla Kamau, alias Raymond, in Garissa, Kenya on October 16. Aden Mohamed Maalim was believed to be moving Waziri and Kamau into Somalia. The three denied the charges of unlawful membership in al Shabaab and will appear in court on February 3, 2014.[4]

• Somali police arrested three suspected al Shabaab militants during a sweep operation in Beledweyne, Hiraan region on October 14. The Hiraan region police commissioner confirmed the arrests and believed the three were members of al Shabaab’s Amniyat wing.[5]

• Al Shabaab militants attacked Somali National Army and AMISOM bases in Arbacow town, Lower Shabelle region, on October 14. Witnesses claimed the total death toll was seven, but official casualty figures were not released.[6]

• Somali soldiers killed a woman and injured others from shooting into a crowd of people waiting to receive humanitarian aid during the Eid al Adha celebrations in Mogadishu on October 15. The soldiers also looted the aid.[7]

• Puntland placed security forces on high alert after discovering numerous al Shabaab plots in the region, on October 16.[8]