Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 24, 2014

Yemen: Suspected AQAP militants clash with Yemeni military in al Bayda; tribal militia clashes with Yemeni military in Hajjah; unknown explosive device kills civilians in Amran

Horn of Africa: Unidentified assailants attack village in Kenya’s Coast Province; al Shabaab spokesman refutes June 23 airstrike casualty figures; Somali security forces conduct security operation in Bay region

 Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected AQAP militants clashed with the Yemeni 139th Mechanized Brigade patrol in Rada, al Bayda on June 23, killing three civilians and wounding eight others.[1]

• An unidentified tribal militia clashed with Yemeni Special Forces near the Yemeni Special Forces base in Hajjah on June 24, killing one soldier and wounding another.[2]

• An unidentified explosive device detonated near Amran city on June 23, killing eight children.[3]

 Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Unidentified assailants attacked a village near Witu in Kenya’s Coast Province the night of June 23. The assailants reportedly killed as many as 11 people during the attack. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the recent violence, al Shabaab conducted similar attacks in the province on June 15 and 17.[4]

• Al Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab, refuted AMISOM’s June 23 claim that Kenya Air Force airstrikes killed eighty al Shabaab militants in Middle Jubba region. Musab asserted that the airstrikes hit unpopulated locations, failing to kill any al Shabaab militants.[5]

• Somali security forces conducted a security operation in the Bardale district of Bay region on June 24. The security forces reportedly arrested an unspecified number of suspected al Shabaab militants during the operation.[6]