Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 30, 2014

Yemen: AQAP militants attack Yemeni army in Hadramawt; AQAP releases video for deceased fighter; AQAP judge praises ISIS’s formation of an Islamic Caliphate; Yemeni military deploys troops to Abyan and Shabwah; US Marines arrive in Lahij; VBIED detonates in Ibb; al Islah Party tribesmen clash with al Houthis in Sana’a 

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants attack AMISOM and SNA base in Hiraan region; al Shabaab threatens to increase attacks in Mogadishu during Ramadan; Al Shabaab militants kill Somali security officers in Mogadishu; IED detonates in crowded market in Mogadishu

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked the Yemeni 37th Armored Brigade near the al Batinah military hospital in al Qatn, Hadramawt on June 28, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers and four AQAP militants.[1]

• AQAP released a video for deceased AQAP fighter Musaad al Habashi, also known as Abu Hajir al Awlaki, through its insurgent arm, Ansar al Sharia, to YouTube on June 17. The video claims that al Habashi was killed in an airstrike in Mafraq al Saeed, Shabwah on June 13.[2]

• Ma'moun bin Abdul Hamid Hatem, an AQAP judge, praised the Islamic State of al Iraq and al Sham’s (ISIS) declaration of the formation of an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria on Twitter on June 29.[3]

• The Yemeni army deployed additional troops to support their military forces stationed in Mahfad, Abyan on June 27. Separately, the Yemeni military deployed troops to the Mayfah and Azzan areas in Shabwah on June 29 to prevent AQAP attacks connected to Ramadan.[4]

• An anonymous Yemeni military source reported that 200 US Marines from the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team arrived at al Anad air base in Lahij on June 28. The source added that the Marines would be training Yemeni counter-terrorism units.[5]

• A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) detonated near an al Houthi camp in al Radma, Ibb on June 28, killing one person and wounding two others. No group has yet claimed responsibility.[6]

• Al Islah Party tribesmen clashed with al Houthi militants in Hamdan, Sana’a on June 28.[7]

 Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants attacked a Djiboutian AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) base near Beledweyne, Hiraan region on June 28. AMISOM and SNA forces exchanged fire with the militants, reportedly repelling the assault.[8]

• Al Shabaab’s representative to Banadir region Sheikh Ali Mohamed Hussein issued a statement through al Shabaab’s Radio Andalus on June 28 threatening to increase and intensify attacks in Mogadishu during Ramadan. Separately, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage, also known as Ali Dhere, praised in a June 27 statement al Shabaab’s June 26 attack on a Djiboutian AMISOM base in Hiraan region and warned that al Shabaab will continue to attack Djiboutian targets until Djibouti withdrawals its forces from Somalia.[9]

• Al Shabaab militants killed six Somali security officers in three separate incidents in Mogadishu on June 29. Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab claimed al Shabaab was responsibility for each of the attacks. The attacks came after the Somali government deployed additional security forces throughout Mogadishu to counter al Shabaab threats to the capital during Ramadan.[10]

• An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in a crowded market in the Karan district of Mogadishu on June 30. The explosion, which appeared to target a government tax collection point, killed at least two people and injured seven others. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.[11]