Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 30, 2014

Yemen: AQAP releases video where AQAP leader Qasim al Raymi criticizes Americans and their clients; al Houthi militants clash with al Islah tribesmen in al Jawf; Yemeni military shells tribal areas in Abyan

Horn of Africa: Jubbaland security forces seize al Shabaab bases in Lower Jubba region; al Shabaab militants ambush AMISOM and SNA convoy in Bay region; al Shabaab spokesman threatens intensified attacks against Somali parliamentarians in Mogadishu; Tanzanian police identify terror suspects arrested in Kenya as Tanzanian nationals

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) media arm, al Malahem Media Foundation, released a video, entitled “From the Field: Explosion of the Military Intelligence Base – Lahij,” to YouTube and Twitter on July 30. Within the video, Qasim al Raymi, AQAP’s military commander, asserted that any organization, ministry, camp, or area that supports the Americans and their clients will be dissolved by the mujahideen. The video also contains footage of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) that AQAP detonated near a Yemeni military intelligence base in Lahij on March 18.[1]

• Al Houthi militants clashed with al Islah tribesmen in Safra, al Jawf on July 29, ending a mutual ceasefire. No casualties were reported.[2]

• An unidentified Yemeni military unit shelled tribal areas in Mahfad, Abyan on July 29, in response to small arms fire from militants residing in the area.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• A Jubbaland security official announced on July 29 that Jubbaland security forces seized al Shabaab bases near Kismayo, Lower Jubba region. The official reported that the operation is part of an ongoing offensive against al Shabaab in the region.[4]

• Al Shabaab militants ambushed an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali National Army (SNA) convoy travelling from Bardale district to Qansadere district in Bay region on July 30. At least three combatants were killed in the attack.[5]

• Al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamed Rage, also known as Ali Dhere, reiterated on July 29 al Shabaab’s threat to intensify attacks against Somali parliamentarians in Mogadishu. Rage justified the targeting of parliamentarians by stating that they have forsaken proper Islamic law. Separately, al Shabaab’s commander in Lower Shabelle region, Mohamed Abu Abdalla, declared on July 29 that al Shabaab freed five minor criminals from prison in celebration of Eid al Fitr.[6]

• Tanzanian police identified on July 28 three terror suspects, detained by Kenyan security forces, as Tanzanian nationals. The Kenyan security forces originally arrested the suspects in connection with the recent attacks in Lamu and Mombasa in Kenya’s Coast Province. The ensuing investigation reportedly revealed that the suspects communicated with al Shabaab members and other foreign elements.[7]