Gulf of Aden Security Review - December 23, 2014

Yemen: AQAP detonates five IEDs in capital Sana’a targeting al Houthis; militants assassinate security official in Taiz

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants publicly execute man for spying in Middle Shabelle region; unidentified gunmen assassinate two policemen in Kenya’s North Eastern Province

Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants detonated five improvised explosive devices (IED) targeting al Houthi militants in the capital Sana’a on December 23. One al Houthi militant was killed during the blasts. Security forces found and cleared three other IEDs in the same area.[1]

• Unidentified militants assassinated a security official and a Yemeni Red Crescent aid worker on December 23 in the center of Taiz. AQAP has recently carried out assassinations of officials in the same area.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants publicly executed a man accused of spying for the Somali government near Jowhar, Middle Shabelle region on December 23.[3]

• Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two policemen in Wajir in Kenya’s North Eastern Province on December 23.[4]