Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 25, 2014

Yemen: AQAP releases biography for slain fighter; AQAP militants kill Yemeni soldier in Hadramawt; suspected AQAP militants attack Yemeni military checkpoint in al Bayda; al Houthi rebels gain control of military checkpoint in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: AMISOM conducts operations against al Shabaab in Gedo and Middle Jubba regions; AMISOM announces killing of two senior al Shabaab officials; al Shabaab militants attack Somali security forces in Mogadishu and Lower Jubba region; unidentified gunmen kill German tourist in Mombasa

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a biography for slain Saudi fighter Muhammad Omar Hajeel al Sayari, also known as Shadad al Sharuri, to Twitter on July 23. Sharuri was killed during clashes with al Houthi militants in Dammaj, Sa’ada in November 2013.[1]

• Militants from AQAP’s insurgent arm, Ansar al Sharia, kidnapped and executed a Yemeni soldier, Zia Saleh al Zaqimi, on Aam Street in Sayun, Hadramawt and left al Zaqimi’s body in another street with the message, “Tit for Tat,” on July 23.[2]

• Suspected AQAP militants attacked a Yemeni military checkpoint in Aza, al Bayda on July 25, killing four Yemeni soldiers.[3]

• Al Houthi militants gained control of a checkpoint belonging to Yemeni Special Forces in al Haymah, Sana’a on July 25.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) reported in a July 24 press statement that AMISOM forces seized an al Shabaab “training and planning camp” near Beled Hawo, Gedo region. The camp reportedly served as a safe haven for al Shabaab to organize attacks against AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) forces in the area. Separately, AMISOM claimed a July 23 operation against an al Shabaab logistical base in Jilib, Middle Jubba region. An unspecified number of al Shabaab militants were reportedly injured during the operation.[5]

• AMISOM announced on July 24 the killing of two senior al Shabaab officials, Issa Mohamed Dhoore and Sharif Ameey, during an operation conducted last week by AMISOM and SNA forces near Bulo-Burde, Hiraan region. Dhoore reportedly served as a liaison between al Shabaab and foreign actors, while maintaining a close relationship with al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.[6]

• Al Shabaab militants attacked SNA bases in the Yaqshid district of Mogadishu on July 25. Separately, al Shabaab militants reportedly fired rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) at Jubbaland security forces during an attack near Afmadow, Lower Jubba region on July 25. The casualty figures associated with each incident remain unclear.[7]

• Unidentified gunmen killed a German tourist in Mombasa in Kenya’s Coast Province on July 24. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.[8]