Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 23, 2013

Yemen: AQAP attacks checkpoint in Hadramawt; Salafists attack al Houthis in Ibb; Popular Committee arrests AQAP members in Abyan; the Tihami movement threatens to engage in piracy; AQAP releases details on fighters slain in Yemen

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab attacks base in Bakool region; Kenyan forces arrest three Tanzanians in Somalia

Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked a military checkpoint in Shibam, Hadramawt governorate on October 23. The attackers used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). The number of casualties has not been reported.[1]

• Suspected Salafist gunmen ambushed al Houthis in Yarim, Ibb governorate on October 23. Two al Houthis were killed and three were wounded. The al Houthis were on their way to Ibb to celebrate Eid al Ghadeer, a Shiite holiday not recognized by the Salafists.[2]

• A military official said that the Popular Committee of Abyan foiled a terrorist plot and arrested five militants gathered in a mosque on October 22. The detainees confessed to belonging to AQAP.[3]

• Leaders of the Tihami movement threatened to start carrying out acts of piracy unless the government met their demands. The Tihami movement wants an autonomous region on the western coast of Yemen.[4]

• AQAP released a video listing the names, nationality, and place of death for several militants killed during clashes with security forces and drone strikes Yemen. The list included several foreign fighters from Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants attacked a Somali National Army base in el Barde, Bakool region on October 23. Five soldiers from each side were confirmed dead and many more were wounded.[6]

• Kenyan AMISOM forces arrested three Tanzanian nationals attempting to join al Shabaab in southern Somalia on October 23. AMISOM arrested these same three men, Jamani Ali, Mbaruki Sharif Muswadiku, and Harun Waziri Tinawa, last August.[7]