Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 18, 2014

Yemen: Yemeni security forces capture AQAP leader in al Hudaydah; suspected AQAP militant targets Yemeni intelligence officer in Sana’a; al Houthi militants fire mortar shells at Yemeni military in Amran; gunmen clash with Yemeni military in Aden; IED detonates in Hadramawt

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants conduct security operation in Gedo region; car bomb targets doctor near hospital in Mogadishu; unidentified assailants attack Somali security forces in Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle region

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemeni security forces captured Abdul Rahman Shoaib, also known as Abu Musab al Hadidi, leader of the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) cell in al Hudaydah, in al Hudaydah on June 18.[1]

• A Yemeni intelligence officer, Colonel Ali al Sharafi, survived an assassination attempt when a suspected AQAP militant opened fire in Sana’a on June 18. Police arrested four suspects believed to be involved.[2]

• Al Houthi militants fired mortar shells at Yemeni military positions near a Qat farm in Hamdan, Amran on June 18, killing four workers and wounding three others.[3]

• Unidentified gunmen clashed with Yemeni Special Forces in al Tawilah in Sirah, Aden on June 16, killing one civilian and wounding three Yemeni Special Forces soldiers and one civilian.[4]

• Unidentified assailants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) near a Yemeni military patrol in al Mukalla, Hadramawt on June 18, resulting in no casualties.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants conducted a security operation in Bardhere, Gedo region on June 18. The militants, in an effort to enforce a ban on viewing the FIFA World Cup, confiscated the televisions of local residents and arrested at least thirty people suspected of violating the ban. Separately, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab declared on June 18 that al Shabaab established operational bases in Kenya, from which militants launched the June 15 and June 17 attacks on towns in the Lamu district of Kenya’s Coast Province.[6]

• A car bomb detonated near the Keysaney Hospital in Mogadishu on June 17. The explosion, which appeared to target a prominent Somali doctor, killed at least one hospital employee and injured seven others, including the doctor. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.[7]

• Unidentified gunmen killed a Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) official, identified as Asey Hassan Hayle, in the Wadajir district of Mogadishu on June 17. Separately, an unidentified assailant threw an unknown explosive device at Somali police officers in Marka, Lower Shabelle region on June 18. No group has yet claimed responsibility for either attack.[8]