Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 11, 2014

Yemen: Anonymous security source reports new AQAP camp in Lahij; suspected AQAP militants attack Yemeni military vehicle in Abyan; Yemeni President issues statement calling for withdrawal of al Houthi forces from Amran;  gunmen assassinate civilian in Hadramawt

Horn of Africa: Unidentified gunmen attack a village in Coast Province; suspected al Shabaab militants attack Kenyan ship in Shabelle; Somali security and AMISOM forces strike suspected al Shabaab militants in Mogadishu; AMISOM forces raid an al Shabaab camp in Lower Juba; Somali Radio reports that a suspected telecommunication technician was involved in an attack on the presidential compound; Suspected Ogaden National Liberation Front militants kill a shopkeeper in Garissa

Yemen Security Brief

• An anonymous security source in Lahij reported that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) recently established a training camp in al Maqatirah, Lahij along the administrative border with Taiz governorate on July 10, adding that most of the residing AQAP militants came from Shabwah and Abyan.[1]

• Suspected AQAP militants attacked a Yemeni 115th Infantry Brigade vehicle in Mudia, Abyan on July 10, wounding one soldier.[2]

• President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued a statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of al Houthi forces from Amran on July 10. He also called on all al Houthis to leave behind all military weapons that have been looted.[3]

• Unidentified gunmen, riding on a motorcycle, assassinated a civilian allegedly assisting Yemeni authorities with tracking AQAP, Fayez Baziad, in Shibam, Hadramawt on July 11.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Unidentified gunmen attacked Pandanguo village in Lamu in Kenya’s Coast Province on July 11. The gunmen locked up men praying in a mosque, stole medical supplies, and took six rifles from police forces. The attackers also burnt down a school and a number of local businesses.[5]

• Unconfirmed reports indicate that al Shabaab militants attacked a Kenyan ship stranded in the coastal town of Meyraley in the Middle Shabelle region of Somalia on July 10. Local villagers also began looting the ship after a mechanical problem forced the ship to run ashore.[6]

• Somali security and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces launched security operations in the Wadajir district of Mogadishu, Somalia the night of July 9, targeting suspected al Shabaab militants. The operation occurred in neighborhoods around the Hormud center and district headquarters of Wadajir.[7]

• AMISOM forces raided an al Shabaab camp in Busc Busc, southwest of Kismayo in the Lower Juba region of Somalia on July 9. AMISOM forces killed an unknown number of al Shabaab militants during the raid.[8]

• Somali government radio stated on July 8 that a man with access to the presidential compound in Mogadishu led the July 8 attack on the compound. The suspect’s name is Hassan Muhiyadin and is reported to be telecommunication technician. Security forces captured him following the attack. The report also revealed that some of the attackers were in government uniforms and used hand grenades and AK-47 rifles during the attack.[9]

• Suspected Ogaden National Liberation Front militants killed a shopkeeper in Garissa, Garissa County, Kenya on July 8.[10]