Gulf of Aden Security Review - April 8, 2014

Yemen: Gunmen attack Yemeni military checkpoint in Hadramawt; a leader of the al Haq party survives assassination attempt in Sana’a 

Horn of Africa: Multiple IEDs explode at checkpoints in Mandera, Kenya; car bomb detonates in Galgudud region

Yemen Security Brief

• Unidentified gunmen, suspected to be al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants, attacked a Yemeni military checkpoint manned by special forces in Buroum, outside of al Mukalla in Hadramawt governorate on April 8. Local sources reported that the gunmen used a combination of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) during the attack. At least three Yemeni soldiers were killed and at least two other soldiers were wounded in the attack. The gunmen also raided a police station, seizing weapons from the police officers.[1]

• Dr. Ismail Ibrahim al Wazir, the head of the al Haq party’s shura council, survived an assassination attempt by unidentified gunmen in the capital of Sana’a on April 8. Reports indicated that Wazir’s bodyguards exchanged fire with the gunmen. At least two bodyguards were killed and another was injured. One of the gunmen may also have been wounded in the attack.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded simultaneously at separate checkpoints near two schools in Mandera, Kenya, on April 7. Although the explosions inflicted damage to the checkpoints, no people were harmed. A Mandera police official reported that police arrested multiple suspects after the incident and confiscated a third IED, which Kenyan Defense Forces safely detonated. Police suspect the incident was a result of local grievances rather than al Shabaab’s influence in the area.[3]

• A car bomb detonated in Guriel district of Galgudud region on April 8.The driver of the vehicle was killed and an unspecified number of civilians injured after an IED attached to the vehicle detonated. Although both the identity of the driver and motivation behind the attack remain unclear, district officials blamed al Shabaab. Following the incident, the Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a militia conducted security operations in Guriel, detaining several suspects.[4]