Can the taliban become part of a political process without offering refuge to al qaeda, its affiliates, and other groups posing. Inside the uaes war on alqaeda in yemen the independent. Al qaeda is pursuing a global strategy of enmeshing its forces in local movements and militias. Yemen and the united states are officially cooperating in the battle against al qaeda. Defeating al qaeda s shadow government in yemen viii outcomes led aqap to pursue a softer policy of engaging with the local population, eschewing its typical harshness. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap is a sunni terrorist organization and al qaeda aq affiliate based in yemen. Katherine zimmerman is a research fellow at the american enterprise institute aei and the lead analyst on al qaeda for aeis critical threats project. This is a well written, well presented presentation of what al qaeda was and now is. Al qaeda s affiliate there, al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim, is developing capabilities that threaten american interests in west africa in a way that does not raise red flags in washington. Alqaeda operatives have found safe haven in some of yemen s tribal regions, but their goal of establishing an international caliphate conflicts with many local political realities, potentially limiting this hospitality. Alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap is the union of alqaeda s branches in saudi arabia and yemen. Full transcript available at accessed 17 november 2011.
Between a drone and alqaeda the civilian cost of us targeted killings in yemen h u m a n r i g h t s w a t c h. Alqaeda is the most representative organization in yemen. The situation is stable, more than any free part of yemen. Shaul shay november 2014 a new war has started in yemen after houthi rebels took control of the capital, sanaa. A case study william rosenau and alexander powell with contributions from pamela g. Dec 02, 2015 hundreds of al qaeda fighters seized two major cities in yemen after hours of clashes, part of the terror groups effort to expand its presence in southern regions of. Alqaedas 911 attacks was the deadliest ever on american soil, killing nearly 3,000 people. I prefer that al qaeda stay here, not for al mukalla to be liberated, said one 47yearold resident.
The alislah party, the political arm of the muslim brotherhood in yemen, has its stronghold in marib province, the countrys other oil center east of sanaa. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, a new merger of al qaedas yemeni and saudi branches, carried out attacks on both countries from yemen, where about two dozen wanted saudi. Now its creeping upwards, hitting the middleclass as well. Aqap also seeks to inspire lonejihad attacks in the west. Alqaida in the arabian peninsula aqap is a highly active alqaida affiliate that mainly operates in yemen. Al qaeda is setting conditions in the sahel that will threaten us and european interests. The percentage of attacks in the first world originating from the afghanistanpakistan border declined starting in 2007, as alqaeda shifted to somalia and yemen. Al qaeda in yemen aqy was a militant islamist group based in yemen and the yemeni branch of the al qaeda aq franchise from 2000 until 2009 when it merged with its suadi counterpart to create al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap. An al qaeda affiliate case study david knoll with contributions from alexander thurston and pamela g. Tribal society in yemen is regulated by complex rules that bind its members to one another. Its experience fighting in syria has expanded al qaeda s contacts, and, given the proliferation of jihadist groups pdf worldwide67 active groups as of 2019there will be more opportunities for al qaeda to work with likeminded terrorists from north africa to southeast asia. The following excerpts are from a document found by the police in manchester, england, during a search of an al qaeda members home. These individuals do not qualify for leadership in al qaeda according to historic paradigms because they were not companions of osama bin laden. Emerging from the 2009 merger of the yemeni and saudi arabian branches of al qaeda, aqap has claimed numerous attacks in yemen and has also targeted westerners at home and abroad.
Aqap is at the forefront of plotting alqaeda s attacks against the west. Aqap has carried out violent jihadist attacks both domestically and internationally in service of alqaeda s ideology. Get breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Furthermore, the united states is committed to countering aqap in yemen see acled, june 2018, and airstrikes frequent areas under their control. Yemen air strikes and bombings affected as many as 1,500 schools and 100 universities in yemen. Yemens importance to alqaeda increased further in january 2009 when. Throughout al ansis many public appearances, the senior al. Zelin, washington institute for near east policy, june. The saudi strategy to defeat the houthis in the north depends on winning the support of the marib tribes. Why al qaeda in yemen is wooing the saudis, khaleej times, 10 may 2008. For a time, this status was given to yemen, where the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap, nasr al wuhayshi, was al qaeda s deputy from 20 until his death in june 2015. It transcends class, tribe and regional identity in a way that no other organization or political party does.
Alwahayshi called on the tribes to resist pressure to grant the state control of their territory. Proceeding from the terrorists view of media as a critical arena of jihad, this study applies content analysis to al qaeda and islamic stateproduced magazines in order to empirically differentiate the two groups through the strategies. The renewed focus on isis distracts from the greater emerging longterm threat posed by al qaeda. Tanzim qaidat aljihad fi jazirat alarab is alqaedas most prominent formal affiliate. Since the fall of the taliban, alqaeda has established operations worldwide, including in syria, the gulf, north africa, west africa, east africa, and the indian subcontinent. While alqaeda leaders were hiding in the tribal areas along the afpak border, middletier leaders heightened activity in somalia and yemen. Customs and border protection cbp and the transportation security administration tsa began meeting with industry partners to better understand. Transcript for the frontline film al qaeda in yemen. The civil war in yemen is a complex situation, but the various conflicts in different cities have one thing in common. It builds on crisis groups comparative study of the evolving global jihadist landscape, exploiting. Mar 20, 2018 illustrative of this are islamic state isis affiliates, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap in yemen, and al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim in north africa. The threat is compounded by globalization, with barriers to. Hunger is not new to yemen, but used to affect mostly its lowest class. Saudi and uae had transferred us arms to al qaeda linked groups and a salafi militia.
The al qaeda network today also comprises semiautonomous or self radicalized actors, who often have only peripheral or ephemeral ties to either the core cadre in pakistan or affiliated groups elsewhere. As al qaeda and the islamic state vie for ascendancy in the jihad movement, policymakers grapple with distinguishing the threat posed by these groups. The saudi and yemeni branches of alqaeda cooperated with one another in the early 2000s, before merging as aqap in 2009. Aqap and aqim eulogize zawahiri deputy abu alkhayr almasri, site intelligence group, march 2, 2017.
She is the author of a new model for defeating al qaeda in yemen. It was founded in 2009 as a merger between alqaida in yemen aqy and alqaida in saudi arabia under the current leadership of nasser alwuhayshi with greater allegiance to alqaida core. Since the discussions have supposedly been between representatives of caliph albaghdadi of isis and al qaeda central aqc head ayman alzawahiri, in the interest of caution we should assume that the discussions are not just about a reconciliation in syria and iraq. One senior emirati commander did admit to the independent that they had absorbed deserting al qaeda fighters, the rankand file that had been lured. For a time, this status was given to yemen, where the leader of alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap, nasr alwuhayshi, was alqaedas deputy from 20 until his death in june 2015. It does base a lot of its information on the son of an al qaeda leader who defected to help the cia, and that reliance on one source made me wonder if he was totally reliable. There had been breaches throughout the 72hour period and all parties rejected the uns call for a renewal, each blaming the other side for the violations during the ceasefire. Make haste slowly the leadership of alqaeda has long considered yemen as a prime location to establish an islamic emirate from which to launch global operations. The scene of a suicide bombing this year in southern yemen, where a branch of al qaeda.
Some reports indicate or claim that isis and al qaeda are discussing a merger. Al qaeda views shiite muslims as heretics, like the houthis. Introduction this report examines the nexus of regional and local factors fuelling alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap and islamic state i ss gains in yemen. Established in 2009 as a merger of alqaeda units in saudi arabia and yemen, aqap arabic. For its part, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap has stated its intent to achieve our great islamic project. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap background al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap was formed in 2009 after the saudi and yemeni branches of al qaeda merged following the counterterrorism efforts of saudi arabia, which drove the saudi branch across the border into yemen stanford university, 2017. Files in this file photo reproduction of a combo of two pictures of a suspected military chief of al qaeda network in yemen, identified as qassem al rimi or qassim al rimi, shows the activist. Alqaeda operatives have found safe haven in some of yemens tribal regions. But before we get to the current state of alqaeda in yemen, i think its instructive to look at the first phase of the war. Al qaida in the arabian peninsula aqap is a highly active al qaida affiliate that mainly operates in yemen. Watch fulllength episodes of pbs documentary series frontline for free. Reporter ghaith abdulahads journey in yemen began here, in the dangerous. Aqy attacked the yemeni government and western targets in the country. Al qaeda in yemen ghaith abdulahad travels deep into yemen s radical heartland to investigate how al qaeda.
Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula antidefamation league. In 2007, seven spanish tourists were killed by al qaeda gunmen near marib, and in 2008, two belgian tourists were killed in marib, along with their yemeni drivers. Americans to fight al qaeda, with the result that the organization was broken up. It builds on crisis groups comparative study of the evolving global jihadist landscape, exploiting disorder.
Al qaeda core, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how. Saudi arabia, meanwhile, is struggling to extricate itself from the yemeni quagmire a. Saudi arabia and the states of the gulf cooperation council gcc began an. The second phase of the al qaeda buildup in yemen began in 2006, on the heels of the escape from the prison in sanaa of 23 al qaeda members, including present leader nasir al wahishi, who had served as secretary to osama bin laden in afghanistan. Two alqaeda affiliates, alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap, and alqaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim, quickly issued a joint statement eulogizing almasri. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap is the union of al qaeda s branches in saudi arabia and yemen. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the offshoot of osama bin laden. Al qaeda al qaeda training manual inside the terror. The document, which has since been described by the fbi as the. The recent failed attempt to blow up a commercial airliner has made clear that al qaeda is still operational, with continuing ability to strike. The growth of aqap has led american officials to indicate that yemen could become al qaeda.
Exploring the financial nexus of terrorism, drug trafficking. Aqap plots include the unsuccessful 2009 christmas day underwear bombing and an unsuccessful 2010 plan to put parcel bombs on u. This report examines the nexus of regional and local factors fuelling alqaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap and islamic state iss gains in yemen. Prior to hostilities, yemen had already come under pressure to act against alqaeda, since attacks on its two main allies, saudi arabia and the united states, were primarily conducted by militants based in yemen previous attacks linked to alqaeda in yemen include the 2000 bombing of the uss cole, the 2008 american embassy attack, and several other attacks against foreign tourists. How saudi arabias war in yemen has made al qaeda stronger. Since the attempted bombing of an american passenger jet on christmas day 2009 was traced to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap in yemen, the yemeni government has been trying to. Al ansi says abbottabad documents are true, but us hasnt released all of them. It was founded in 2009 as a merger between al qaida in yemen aqy and al qaida in saudi arabia under the current leadership of nasser al wuhayshi with greater allegiance to al qaida core. The sahel is the transitional zone between northern africa and subsaharan africa. Aqaps expansion of a popular base and its safe havens threatens u. Both alqaeda and the muslim brotherhood fit that bill right now.
The group also threatened future attacks against other embassies, including those of saudi arabia. In 2009, the group merged with its saudi counterpart under the umbrella of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap. Alqaedas leading strategist, abu musab alsuri, in his highly influential call for a global islamic resistance. In yemen, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap seeks to strengthen and build its support base through a focus on the local fight. Alqaida in the arabian peninsula aqap narrative start. A complicated mosaic on the ballot, hadi was elected as president of yemen with 99. Differentiating al qaeda and the islamic state through. Yemen and saudi alqaeda arms merge news al jazeera. Despite these attempts, local populations are aware of the risks of affiliating with al qaeda and most disagree with the groups violent aims project on middle east democracy, february 2018. Al qaeda is leading this new war against the shia houthi with support from some of the defeated government forces and sunni tribes. In lengthy videos produced by aqap, al ansi also discusses matters that only a fully made man within al qaeda would be allowed to address, including the contents of osama bin ladens files. Al qaeda in yemen aqy was a militant islamist group based in yemen and the yemeni branch of the al qaeda aq franchise from 2000 until 2009 when it merged with its saudi counterpart to create al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap.
The briefing should include an update on department of defense dod assistance to the saudiled coalition, counterterrorism activities against al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and isis, and any other related activities or missions in the region. Between a drone and alqaeda 2 some of those targeted by us forces as terrorist suspects may not in fact have been valid military targets. Prior to hostilities, yemen had already come under pressure to act against al qaeda, since attacks on its two main allies, saudi arabia and the united states, were primarily conducted by militants based in yemen previous attacks linked to al qaeda in yemen include the 2000 bombing of the uss cole, the 2008 american embassy attack, and several other attacks against foreign tourists. New al qaeda group vows to carry out attacks across the arabian peninsula. Al qaeda in yemen aqy was the yemeni affiliate of al qaeda, formed in 2000. Aqap has carried out violent jihadist attacks both domestically and internationally in service of al qaeda s ideology. Relatives of americans killed in yemen drone strikes file. Al qaeda operatives have found safe haven in some of yemen s tribal regions. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap, described by the u.
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