Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 7, 2014

Yemen: Yemeni security forces and al Houthi gunmen arrest two AQAP operatives in Sana’a; possible new Prime Minister revealed in Sana’a; AQAP releases biographies for two slain fighers; unidentified assailants plant IED in Lahij

Horn of Africa: AMISOM and Jubbaland security forces seize territory from al Shabaab militants after clashes in Lower Jubba region; al Shabaab militants attack AMISOM forces in Galgudud region; Somali security officials announce al Shabaab defections in Hiraan and Bay regions

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemeni security forces, in cooperation with al Houthi gunmen, apprehended two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Sana’a on October 7. One of the operatives, Abu Khalil Sufi, is accused of the September 23 kidnap and murder of the Director of Political Security.[1]

• Political sources in Sana’a allege that Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak was chosen as Yemen’s new Prime Minister on October 7, although no official announcement has yet been made.[2]

• AQAP released separate biographies for two slain fighters on October 7: Saleh bin Sad al Amri and Mohammed Salim bin Ghazi. Saleh, also known as Abu Othman, was killed in clashes with Saudi security forces at a Yemeni-Saudi border post in Hadramawt on July 4. Mohammed was killed when the Yemeni military bombed an AQAP camp in Mahfad, Abyan on April 14, 2014.[3]

• Unidentified assailants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in Lahij on October 7. Bomb technicians from the Yemeni Army Corps of Engineers successfully defused the device.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Jubbaland security forces seized Bulo Gadud, Lower Jubba region  from al Shabaab militants, killing 22 militants during clashes, on October 7.  The security forces captured an al Shabaab base in the area, destroying vehicles and confiscating weapons and ammunition. Separately, AMISOM and Jubbaland security forces clashed with al Shabaab militants in nearby Kamsuuma, resulting in an unknown number of casualties, on October 7. The security forces are reportedly advancing towards al Shabaab safe havens in Jamame, Lower Jubba region and Jilib, Middle Jubba region. [5]

• Al Shabaab militants ambushed Ethiopian AMISOM and Somali National Army (SNA) troops in Elbur, Hiraan region, resulting in an unknown number of casualties on October 7.[6]     

• Somali security officials announced on Ocotber 7 that ten al Shabaab militants in Bulo-Burde, Hiraan region and five militants from Goof Gadud, Bay region surrendered to the Somali Federal Government, taking advantage of the temporary amnesty program for militant defectors.[7]