Battle of Al Masini valley | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present), the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, and Hadramaut Insurgency | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula | Hadrami Elite Force United Arab Emirates | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Unknown | Maj. Gen. Faraj al-Bahsani | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Sons of Hadhramaut | Hadrami Elite forces | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
19 killed [1] | 8 killed [2] |
The Battle of Al Masini Valley, code named Operation Al Faisal by the Saudi-led coalition, was an operation conducted by the UAE-backed Hadhrami Elite Force with backing from the UAE Armed Forces to clear the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) controlled stronghold of Al-Masini Valley in central Hadhramaut governorate.
After being ousted from their emirates in Abyan and Shabwah governorates in 2012 through a government offensive, AQAP began shifting activities to the eastern Hadhramaut governorate. [3] AQAP captured much of Hadhramaut including its capital of Mukalla in 2015 amid the breakout of the Yemeni civil war. [4] Mukalla, along with most of Hadhramaut was recaptured by the Yemeni army along with coalition forces in 2016. [5] After being ousted from power, AQAP continued maintaining a presence in the governorate, waging an insurgency against the government and the coalition.
Al-Manisi Valley was an AQAP stronghold in central Hadhramaut used as an operation room for its activities in the region. [6]
On 16 February 2018, the Hadrami Elite Force surrounded Al-Manisi Valley. [7] The next day, the Hadrami Elite, backed by coalition aircraft and UAE ground support, launched a preemptive attack from three axles that laid siege to Al-Manisi. [8] [9] By 18 February, Hadrami Forces had entered the valley and began to slowly retake all areas in and around it. On 18 February, Hadhrami Elite Forces were pushing into the valley from the lower and western entrance. [10] Following fierce fighting over the day, AQAP forces retreated as Hadrami forces gained full control of the valley and began pursuing them. After AQAP had completely fleed, Yemeni security forces established military posts and patrols around the area. [11] [6]
After capturing the valley, security forces confiscated equipment and ammunition used by AQAP. This included large caches of ammunition, mortar guns and missiles.
The governor of Hadhramaut, Major General Faraj Al-Bahsani, declared that the operation was a success and that others like it will follow until the region was fully rid of AQAP. [12]
In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism". There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.
Shibam Hadramawt is a town in Yemen. With about 7,000 inhabitants, it is the seat of the District of Shibam in the Governorate of Hadhramaut. Known for its mudbrick-made high-rise buildings, it is referred to as the "Manhattan of the Desert" or "Chicago of the Desert".
Mukalla is a seaport and the capital city of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Aden, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, about 480 kilometres east of Aden. It is the most important port city in the Hadhramaut region. It is also the sixth-largest city in Yemen, with a population of approximately 595,000 as of 2023. The city is served by the nearby Riyan International Airport.
Riyan International Airport is an airport in Mukalla, Hadhramaut, Yemen. It is not to be confused with the former RAF Riyan, which is located closer to Mukalla.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, commonly abbreviated as AQAP is a Sunni Islamist militant group which is part of the al-Qaeda network and is primarily active in Yemen and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated cells in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.
The First Battle of Mukalla (2015) was a battle between al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, local tribesmen, and the Yemen Army for control of the coastal city of Mukalla, Yemen.
Khalid Saeed Batarfi, also known as Abū al-Miqdād al-Kindī, was a Saudi Arabian militant and the emir of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He oversaw the Yemen-based group's media network and led jihadist fighters in their takeover of Yemen's Abyan Governorate in 2011, where he was accorded the position of emir. He also reputedly carried out terrorist attacks in the Abyan and Hadhramaut governorates.
In early December 2015, two Yemeni towns, Zinjibar and Ja'ar, were captured by the jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This was the second capture and occupation of Zinjibar during unrest in Yemen. The town was earlier taken by AQAP's in May 2011 and held until the summer of 2012.
The Shabwah Governorate offensive is an insurgent campaign by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) forces to take control of Shabwah Governorate during the Yemeni Civil War.
The Islamic State – Yemen Province is a branch of the militant Islamist group Islamic State (IS), active in Yemen. IS announced the group's formation on 13 November 2014.
The Second Battle of Mukalla refers to an armed conflict between al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Saudi-led Coalition. The aim of the coalition offensive was to disable the newly resurgent al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen by recapturing its capital, Mukalla. The battle led to a coalition victory, in which the coalition forces gained control of Mukalla and the surrounding coastal areas.
On 15 May 2016, a suicide bombing in the southern Yemeni port city of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadhramaut province, killed at least 47 police and injured over 60. The bombing was preceded by an attack, where 15 Yemeni troops were killed in attacks on army positions outside Mukalla. ISIL said, one of its militants blew up a vehicle, packed with explosives, in an army base in the Khalf district at the city's eastern outskirts.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Hadramaut insurgency was an insurgency in Yemen launched by AQAP and ISIL-YP against forces loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance, also known as the Tribal Alliance of Hadramout or the Hadhramaut Tribes Alliance, is an armed group involved in the ongoing Yemeni Civil War. The Alliance's forces are primarily drawn from the Hadhrami people in southern Yemen. During the civil war, the Alliance is often cited as supporting the government of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and is noted for operating alongside the Republic of Yemen Armed Forces in Hadhramaut.
The Abyan conflict was a series of clashes between forces of AQAP loyal to Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and forces loyal to Southern Movement for the control of Abyan between 2016 and 2018.
The Shabwani Elite are a military unit operating in the Shabwah Governorate of Yemen, mainly against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The unit consisted of at least 6,000 troops and controlled the majority of the province as of early November 2017, according to its commander Mohamed Salem al-Qumishi.
The Hadhrami Elite Forces are special operations forces formed by the Arab coalition forces, under the supervision of the United Arab Emirates technical support and with funding from Saudi Arabia, to liberate the city of Mukalla from al-Qaeda.