Gulf of Aden Security Review - February 4, 2015

Yemen: The three-day deadline for a political solution set by the al Houthis ends; al Houthi militants clash with Ansar al Sharia in al Bayda; security official kills three al Houthi leaders in al Bayda

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab leader killed in U.S. airstrike; AMISOM airstrikes target al Shabaab in Lower Jubba region; al Shabaab attacks police station in Sanaag region

Yemen Security Brief

• The three day deadline for finding a solution to Yemen’s current political crisis ended on February 4 without any agreement coming from the country’s political parties. The al Houthi movement had announced the deadline at the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference held in the capital Sana’a from January 30 – February 1.[1]

• Al Houthi militants clashed with Ansar al Sharia militants in Sharyah, al Bayda near Rada’a on February 4. Reports say that the al Houthis managed to secure the district. Three al Houthi militants died in the fighting.[2]

• A security official killed three al Houthi officers at the Technical Industrial Institute in al Sawadiyah, al Bayda, on February 4. The official demanded to meet with the al Houthis after the latter deployed forces throughout the area.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• A January 31 U.S. airstrike killed al Shabaab leader Yusef Dheeq in the town of Dinsor, Bay region on January 31. The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. carried out the attack. Dheeq was al Shabaab’s head of external operations.[4]

• Interim Jubba Administration officials reported on February 4 that African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces carried out multiple airstrikes against al Shabaab targets in the Lower Jubba region. Officials stated that 27al Shabaab fighters had been killed.[5]

• Al Shabaab gunmen attacked a police station in Bossaso, Sanaag region, northern Somalia on February 3. The attack left one officer seriously wounded and destroyed a police vehicle.[6]