Gulf of Aden Security Review – August 5, 2022

Yemen: Unidentified militants attack an oil pipeline in southern Yemen; suspected Houthi gunmen attempted to assassinate a Houthi official in southern Yemen

Somalia: Al Shabaab SVBIED attack targets Turkish-trained special forces near the Ethiopian border in central Somalia; al Shabaab releases voice recording of senior leader denying claims Ethiopian forces killed him

Yemen Security Brief:

Unidentified militants detonated an explosive device targeting the Shabwah-Bir Ali oil pipeline in Shabwah governorate, southern Yemen, on August 4.[i] It is unclear if the attack damaged the pipeline or impacted its operations.

Suspected Houthi gunmen attempted to assassinate a local Houthi official in Ibb city on August 4.[ii] The gunmen wounded the official.

Somalia Security Brief:

An al Shabaab militant detonated a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) targeting a Turkish-trained Gorgor special forces camp near Jawil, Beledweyne district, Hiraan Region, central Somalia, on August 5.[iii] Gorgor soldiers opened fire on the vehicle before it reached the camp entrance, but the explosion killed at least two soldiers.[iv] Jawil is less than 15 miles south of Ferfer, the border town where Liyu forces repelled a large al Shabaab border crossing attempt on July 25.[v] The Gorgor forces have been part of Somali counterterrorism operations in the area since June and may have participated in efforts to clear al Shabaab from the Ethiopian border.[vi]

Al Shabaab released a voice recording on August 3 of senior leader Fuad Shongole denying Ethiopian forces killed him on July 29.[vii] Shongole also said al Shabaab will continue to attack the Somali Regional Liyu police for being the most religiously and culturally weak Somali defense force in the recording.[viii] Ethiopian officials claimed airstrikes killed Shongole in southwestern Somalia on July 29.[ix]