Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 8, 2015

Yemen: ISIS Wilayat Sana’a detonates VBIED in Sana’a; VBIED kills at least 10 people in al Bayda city

Horn of Africa: Kenyan police deny al Shabaab attacked bus convoy in Lamu County; Kenyan officials launch security operation following July 7 attack

Yemen Security Brief

• The Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham’s (ISIS) Wilayat Sana’a claimed responsibility for a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack on the al Raoudh mosque in the al Ramah neighborhood of Sana’a on July 7, targeting the al Houthis. This is the fourth VBIED attack claimed by Wilayat Sana’a targeting the al Houthis since the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.[1] 

• A VBIED detonated in front of a security management building in al Bayda city, targeting the al Houthi movement. The attack killed at least 10 people and has not yet been claimed. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s insurgent force, Ansar al Sharia, has previously claimed similar attacks in al Bayda city.[2]   

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Several reports indicate that heavily armed al Shabaab militants attacked a convoy of buses near Mpeketoni, Lamu County, on July 7. No injuries are reported, and witnesses stated that the militants targeted the convoy’s police escorts. Kenyan Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet tweeted that reports of the attack were false and that al Shabaab has faced severe setbacks within the past 12 hours.[3]

• Kenyan officials announced that the government evacuated the remaining 136 quarry workers from Soko Mbuzi, Mandera County, following al Shabaab’s July 7 attack that killed 14 people and injured 11 others. Kenyan security forces also launched a manhunt for the militants involved, whom local residents suggested may be young men inspired by al Shabaab, despite the group’s claim that they conducted the attack.[4]