AQAP Capitalizes on the Chaos in Yemen

Two coordinated suicide attacks believed to be carried out by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on Thursday left at least 63 people dead in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, as well as in the eastern Hadramout province. The attacks came just hours after Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak rejected the nomination for prime minister under intense pressure from the country’s Shi’ite Houthi rebels, marking the latest development in Yemen’s ongoing political crisis.

As Yemen’s political and security vacuum worsens, AQAP is capitalizing on the chaos. Only a day after the Houthis staged a lightning-fast sweep of Sana’a on September 22, AQAP released a scathing sectarian diatribe, declaring an open war against the Houthis and calling on fellow Sunnis to take up arms. Since then, AQAP has escalated its terrorist activity throughout the country. The group has carried out attacks in nearly half of Yemen’s 21 provinces, targeting both the Houthis and the Yemeni military, which AQAP accuses of collusion with the rebels. AQAP is even using the term “the Houthi-turned-army” (al-jaysh al-mutahaweth) in its propaganda, in a bid to galvanize popular support against the Yemeni military.

Thursday’s twin suicide bombings came only a day after a five-hour AQAP offensive against military targets in the central Yemeni city of Baydah. AQAP fighters attacked a variety of military installations in the city, including a Special Forces base and military checkpoints, killing at least 11 soldiers. In a subsequent statement, AQAP claimed that the attack was in response to an alleged “handover” of the Special Forces base in the city to the Houthis, repeating its conspiracy theory that the military and the rebels are in cahoots. 

However, AQAP’s targets are not limited to the military and the Houthi rebels. The group still threatens American interests in Yemen. Notably, AQAP launched a rocket at the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a on September 27. And while the al Qaeda affiliate is effectively fighting a three-front war, Yemen’s current lawlessness offers ideal operational conditions.

 AQAP’s activity fits a pattern. In 2011, when Yemeni troops were recalled to Sana’a due to massive anti-government protests, AQAP exploited the security vacuum by seizing territory in the south, and it even announced the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Abyan province. As the current crisis worsens, AQAP can be expected to continue to take advantage of Yemen’s woes.  

Oren Adaki is a Research Associate at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on terrorism issues in the Middle East. Find him on Twitter, @OrenAdaki