Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 16, 2014

Yemen: suspected AQAP militants attack post office and detonate IED in Hadramawt; suspected AQAP militants capture Yemeni security force patrol in al Bayda; al Houthis clash with Yemeni military and local tribesmen in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: AMISOM and Somali security forces foil suspected SVBIED attack on Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu; al Shabaab militants attack AMISOM and SNA forces in Lower Shabelle region; Djiboutian Foreign Minister announces plan to deploy additional battalion to Somalia under AMISOM

Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked a post office in Hura, Hadramawt on July 15, killing one Yemeni policeman and stealing approximately $9,000. Separately, suspected AQAP militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Shibam, Hadramawt on July 16, destroying an abandoned Yemeni police station.[1]

• Suspected AQAP militants captured a Yemeni security force patrol near the new central market in al Bayda on July 15.[2]

• Al Houthi militants clashed with the Yemeni 310th Armored Brigade in Hamdan, Sana’a on July 15, killing two soldiers and wounding three others. Separately, al Houthi militants clashed with local tribesmen in Durwan village in Hamdan, Sana’a on July 16, hours after the Yemeni 310th Armored Brigade withdrew from the area. [3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• AMISOM and Somali security forces foiled a suspected suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack on Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on July 15. The security forces intercepted the vehicle en route to the airport, detaining the driver and safely defusing the explosives within.[4]

• Al Shabaab militants attacked African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali National Army (SNA) forces near Qoryoley, Lower Shabelle region on July 16. A local administrator reported that al Shabaab suffered significant casualties during the fighting. Separately, al Shabaab militants clashed with locals in Shabeelley, Lower Jubba region on July 15. The fighting, which killed two combatants, broke out after locals refused to pay an al Shabaab tax.[5]

• Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf announced on July 16 that the Djiboutian military plans to deploy an additional battalion to Somalia under the AMISOM mandate. Youssof stated that the battalion, which will be deployed in two separate installments of approximately 500 troops, is to support Djibouti’s current AMISOM contingent in Hiraan region.[6]