Gulf of Aden Security Review - March 16, 2015

Yemen: Popular committees loyal to Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi continue clashes with Special Security Forces in Aden; Ansar al Sharia militants attack al Houthi gathering in al Bayda; suspected Ansar al Sharia militants detonate IEDs in Abyan; unidentified militants detonate IED targeting al Houthi leader in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab conducts attack in North Eastern Province, Kenya; reported Kenyan airstrike in Gedo region; al Shabaab releases video

Yemen Security Brief

• Local militias known as popular committees loyal to Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi clashed with Special Security Forces (SSF) under the command of reported Saleh loyalist, Abdul Hafiz al Saqqaf, in Crater, Aden city on March 14. There are no casualty reports available from the incident.[1]

• Ansar al Sharia militants attacked an al Houthi gathering in al Sharyah, al Bayda on March 13. Ansar al Sharia forces reportedly killed 20 al Houthi militants.[2]

• Suspected Ansar al Sharia militants detonated two improvised explosive devices (IED) targeting the 115th Infantry Brigade in Lawder, Abyan on March 15. No group has claimed credit for the attack, which resulted in no casualties.[3]

• Unidentified militants detonated an IED targeting an al Houthi leader in the capital, Sana’a, on March 16. The al Houthi official survived the attack.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab gunmen killed one civilian and wounded three in an attack in Mandera, North Eastern province, Kenya on March 15. The group claimed responsibility for the attack. Al Shabaab previously attacked the Mandera county governor’s convoy on March 13.[5]

• Kenyan aircraft reportedly conducted an airstrike on an al Shabaab base near Bardhere, Gedo region on March 16. The U.S. conducted a similar airstrike near the city on March 12.[6]

• Al Shabaab released a video on March 12. The video is the tenth in a series titled, “Punish Them Severely in Order to Disperse those who are Behind Them,” and depicts the December 6, 2014 assassination of a Somali government official in Bay region and previous al Shabaab attacks in Lower Shabelle region.[7]