Battle of Zinjibar

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Battle of Zinjibar
Part of Yemeni Crisis (2011-present)
Date27 May – 10 September 2011
(3 months and 2 weeks)
Location
Zinjibar and surrounding towns in Abyan Governorate, Yemen
Result

Ansar al-Sharia victory

  • Militants capture Zinjibar and several surrounding towns in late May 2011
  • Several military offensives on the city repelled in June and July 2011
  • 25th Mechanized Brigade under siege in the city until rescued in mid-September 2011
Belligerents

ShababFlag.svg al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [1]

Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen

Supported by

Flag of the United States.svg  United States [2]
Commanders and leaders
Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari
Ali bin Saeed bin Jamil al-Abyani
Ayad al-Shabwani   †
Awad Mohammed Saleh al-Shabwani  †
Hassan Basanbol   †
Ali Abdullah Naji al-Harithi   †
Khalid Batarfi 		Abdullatif Al-Sayed
Colonel Qassem Sheikh   †
Brig. Gen. Ahmad Awad Hassan al-Marmi  † [3]
Gen. Faisal Ragab
Gen. Abdel Hakim al-Salahi [4]
Sheikh Abu Bahr Ashal  †
Strength
300 fighters (initially)
2,000 fighters (later) [5]
400 al-Shabab fighters (since August) [6] 		25th Mechanised Brigade
111th Infantry Brigade [7]
119th Artillery Brigade
201st Artillery Brigade
450 tribal fighters [8]
Casualties and losses
374 [9] -386 [a] militants killed,
128 militants wounded, [40] [41]
12 militants captured [42] 		232 soldiers killed, [43]
330+ soldiers wounded, [41] [44]
50 soldiers missing, [45]
10 soldiers captured [46]
51 tribesmen killed [47] [48]
33 civilians killed [49]

The Battle of Zinjibar was a battle between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), for control of the town of Zinjibar and its surroundings as part of the wider insurgency in the self-declared Al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen. Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sharia ("Partisans of Sharia").

Battle

May 2011

On 27 May, a group of about 300 armed militants entered and took over Zinjibar, seizing almost all government facilities in the area and destroying others. [50] The militants besieged the headquarters of the 25th Mechanized Brigade outside of the city, which stated that it would continue fighting the militants even as all other security forces fled. [51] Agence France-Presse reported heavy fighting in the city, with dozens of inmates being freed from the central prison and surrendering soldiers being executed by militants. Five soldiers and a civilian were killed during the day according to its report. [52] However, some residents of Zinjibar described no fighting in the city, the militants having instead "took over everything" and going on a looting spree. [53] [54]

By the morning of 28 May, the militants were in control of Zinjibar's main streets and were calling on residents by loudspeaker to go out and reopen their shops. [54] [52] The militants began consolidating their control during the night, capturing six army tanks and several armored vehicles. [55] On 29 May, heavy fighting took place between hundreds of soldiers of the 25th Mechanized Brigade moving into the city and the militants, with army units shelling the city from its outskirts. [54] [55] A nighttime ambush on a military convoy travelling to the city left six soldiers dead and multiple armored vehicles destroyed. [56]

In response to the ambush, during the morning of 30 May, Yemeni fighter jets began launching repeated bombing runs on militant positions, including an occupied government compound which was also shelled by artillery. [57] Airstrikes targeting the militants also hit civilian buildings, killing 30 people. [56] Two soldiers were killed by militants during the day. [58]

On 31 May, at least one militant was killed and another was wounded in the city by artillery fired at the city's museum. [58] Six soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in an attack on the Dofas military checkpoint about a kilometer from the city, in which the attackers set fire to 10 military vehicles. [59] Later in the day, a car bomb with two militants in it targeted an army convoy heading to the city in Dofas, killing five soldiers and wounding 23. [59] [60] Two soldiers later died from wounds sustained in the attack. [61] Clashes west of Zinjibar as a result of the attacks lead to the deaths of two militants. [62]

June 2011

On 4 June, AAS fighters ambushed a military reinforcement convoy south of Zinjibar, killing six soldiers and wounding others. A separate convoy ambush near the city killed three soldiers and wounded 36. [63] On 3 June, a United States drone strike in the city killed two high-ranking AQAP leaders, Ali Abdullah Naji al-Harithi and Ammar al-Waeli, along with four civilians according to witnesses. [64] [65] [66]

Between late 6 June and 7 June, the Yemeni military claimed that it had killed 30 militants in and around Zinjibar, including an AQAP commander for Marib Governorate, Hassan al-Aqili. Amid the fighting, dozens of AAS fighters launched an attack on a military position outside Zinjibar, killing nine soldiers and six militants. [67] On 9 June, security forces killed 12 militants in clashes while pressing towards Zinjibar, while three soldiers were wounded. [68]

On 11 June, the Ministry of Defence reported that government troops had killed 18 militants in Zinjibar in addition to destroying a weapons and ammunition cache. [69] The militants were killed in an attempted attack on the 25th Mechanized Brigade base, during which nine soldiers were killed. [70] On 12 June, three government soldiers, including Colonel Salem al-Zuba, were killed during morning clashes in the city. [71] On 18 June, 12 militants and two soldiers were killed during a firefight after security forces came across a group of militants planting a roadside bomb in Zinjibar. [72]

On 19 June, government forces reportedly began an offensive in Zinjibar. [73] Officials reported that the military had shelled AAS militants planting roadside bombs in the Dofas area outside of Zinjibar, killing 12 and wounding three. [74] [75] Five soldiers were killed in clashes in the city. [72] By 20 June, the military claimed to have killed 17 militants since the beginning of the offensive the day before, while losing five soldiers and suffering 21 wounded. [73] The governor of Abyan claimed that the military was "on the verge of completely cleansing Zinjibar" of the militants. [73] A local official reported the killing of at least 10 militants in overnight airstrikes on the nearby town of al-Kawd and other places near Zinjibar. [76] Despite claiming near victory earlier, on 21 June the government stated that the army was "forced to withdraw our 119th and 201st Artillery Brigades around three kilometres (1.8 miles) in a tactical move." [77]

On 27 June, a dawn air raid killed 12 militants and wounded numerous others in the city. An official reported that 35 homes in the city have been destroyed in government shelling over the past two weeks alone. Five militants were killed and seven soldiers were wounded in clashes at Dofas. [78]

On 29 June, a group of about 300 AAS militants launched an assault on security forces stationed the al-Wahda Stadium, approximately five miles east of Zinjibar. [79] [80] The stadium was of significant strategic importance due to its proximity to the military base of the 25th Mechanized Brigade, which was using it to store food and other provisions. [80] Armed with machine guns, Katyusha-type rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, AAS forces killed 25 soldiers while suffering the loss of 11 militants, successfully capturing the stadium. A Yemeni airstrike during the battle accidentally hit a civilian bus, killing five people and injuring 20. [80] The capture of the stadium exposed on two fronts the military's main staging ground for raids on Zinjibar. [81] [82] In response, additional military reinforcements were sent to the city, and the stadium was recaptured on 30 June after army artillery shelling. [79] [83]

July 2011

On 3 July, 25th Mechanized Brigade officer Khaled Noamani pleaded for the government to send reinforcements to Zinjibar, complaining that "we have been blockaded for over a month and have not received human reinforcements, equipment, or even a drop of water in over two weeks". Noamani stated that "militants positioned atop buildings near the base had blockaded the brigade of several hundred troops." [84] He also stated that 15 militants and 10 soldiers were killed during fighting outside the main military base. [85] On 4 July, militant attacks on the base continued with 13 more militants and 6 soldiers killed. [86] On 5 July, the state-ran Saba News Agency reported that at least 40 militants were killed in airstrikes and clashes throughout the previous two days in response to the attack on the base, while two soldiers were killed and 20 were injured. [87]

Another attack on the base was repelled on 6 July, in which seven militants and one soldier were killed, three were injured and two attackers were captured. [88] On 7 July, government forces killed several militants in clashes near Zinjibar, including AQAP's commander in Sirwah district of Marib, Mubarak Firas al-Juhmi. [89] [90] On 10 July, fighting in Zinjibar killed four militants and wounded two, while one soldier was left dead. [91] On 11 July, an airstrike between Ja'ar and Zinjibar killed five militants. [92]

On 17 July, the Yemeni army launched an offensive in Zinjibar, with reinforcements including tanks, rocket launchers, and 500 extra soldiers, primarily from the 119th Brigade, [65] being sent to the city along with 450 pro-government tribal fighters. [93] Backed by heavy tank shelling and rocket attacks from naval ships off the coast, the government reinforcements moved in to lift the siege on the 25th Mechanized Brigade, which had been in place for over a month by then. Dozens were reportedly injured in clashes as army and tribal forces broke the siege and entered Zinjibar from the east. A local official said that three militant leaders were killed in the fighting. Clashes were also reported near the al-Wahda Stadium. [94] On 18 July, security forces killed 23 militants as part of the offensive, including AQAP leader Hassan Basonbol. [95] [96]

The Yemeni government reported that two high-ranking AQAP leaders, Ayad al-Shabwani and Awad Mohammed Saleh al-Shabwani, were killed by artillery fire during intense fighting four kilometers east of Zinjibar on 19 July. By 20 July, the siege on the 25th Mechanized Brigade was lifted as government forces were engaging AAS militants outside the brigade's base. Additionally, the Yemeni government confirmed that the United States was providing logistical support in the battle, as American jets had airdropped supplies for the Brigade while they were besieged. An official stated that "units from the 31st Armoured Brigade and the 119th Armoured Brigade launched a number of Katyusha rockets at hideouts of Al-Qaeda gunmen in al-Kawd area". Fighting occured in al-Kawd, where militants had ambushed soldiers heading towards the bridge to Zinjibar, killing two and wounding several. Clashes near the city killed 10 soldiers and wounded another 33. A local medic reported receiving nine dead soldiers and 15 wounded during the night. A hospital in Aden received 19 wounded soldiers from the 31st Armoured Brigade, one of whom later died. [97]

Throughout late 20 July and early 21 July, 20 militants were killed by airstrikes on Ja'ar and Zinjibar. At least 13 soldiers were killed and more than 60 were wounded in fighting at al-Kawd throughout 21 July. [98] On 22 July, tribal fighters working with the Yemeni military intercepted a convoy of militants in Mudiyah who were heading to Zinjibar, killing one and arresting 10. Tribal forces had also secured the road from Shabwah Governorate to Shuqrah in Abyan, a main highway leading to Zinjibar. [99] On 24 July, an AQAP suicide bomber drove a car bomb into a military convoy in Aden heading to Zinjibar, killing at least nine soldiers and wounding 21 others. [100] On 25 July, 10 militants, including AQAP leader Ali Saeed Jameel, were killed in an attack on a military camp outside of Zinjibar. [101]

Late on 29 July, militants stationed in Dofas attacked government forces, killing two officers, three soldiers and a colonel, and wounding nine. Five militants were killed and four were wounded in the attack. [102] [103] Within the city, a force of around 200 tribesmen heading from Shuqrah clashed with militants on the outskirts of Zinjibar. [102] The tribesmen advanced eastwards towards the city, killing two militants and occupying a government communications building before three airstrikes hit the building late in the day in a friendly-fire incident. [104] The strikes killed 40 people, two colonels, a lieutenant colonel, a major and a powerful sheik from the Nahee tribe. [105] The commander of tribal forces in Zinjibar, Mohammed Gaadani, said that the incident had cast doubt on tribal collaboration with the government, lamenting that "the current regime and al-Qaeda are a coin with two faces." [105] [106] In response to the attack, tribal forces withdrew from the battle to bury their dead as the militants resolidified control over Zinjibar. Participating tribes debated as to whether they would rejoin the offensive. [105]

On 31 July, air raids in and around Zinjibar killed 15 militants and wounded another 17. The airstrikes targeted militant positions in the agricultural Khamila area eight kilometres south of Zinjibar, the town of al-Amudiya and a roadblock set up by the militants near the al-Wahda Stadium. [107] The strikes destroyed a captured army tank and several artillery positions held by the militants in Dofas. [108] An official claimed that local militant leader Nader Shadadi was killed in the strikes, [107] though his death would be reported again in another strike the next year. [109]

August 2011

On 3 August, Mohammed Gaadani announced that the tribes had decided to rejoin the offensive "after we discussed the importance of fighting these extremist elements and clearing Zinjibar of their presence". A local official confirmed that tribal fighters had returned to their positions around Zinjibar. [110] On 10 August, fierce clashes reportedly took place between militants and the 25th Mechanized Brigade. On 11 August, local officials reported that four militants were killed when artillery struck their positions in the villages of al-Khamla and Bajdar, located outside of Zinjibar. [111] Artillery shelling in Ja'ar killed 10 militants on 12 August. Late on 13 August, clashes erupted after militants had attacked 25th Mechanized Brigade forces, killing three soldiers and five militants. Separately, two militants were killed and two soldiers wounded in Dofas after an AAS attack on army positions. [112]

On 17 August, AAS militants recaptured the nearby town of Shuqrah after launching an attack on tribesmen guarding it, who were driven away without fighting. [113] On 18 August, Yemeni fighter jets launched airstrikes on Shuqrah as well as on two militant gathering points in Zinjibar, though casualty reports were not disclosed. [114] A round of airstrikes early on 24 August killed 30 militants near Zinjibar, while eight soldiers were killed in ground fighting near the city. [115] On 23 August, an attack on the 201st Artillery Brigade stationed in Dofas killed seven soldiers, including an officer, and wounded 30. Reprisal army raids killed a reported 35 militants. [116] Airstrikes on two militant positions south of Zinjibar on 24 and 25 August killed 14 militants. [116]

On 26 August, AAS militants "hidden in a wooded mountainous area opened fire on army units heading from Dofas to Zinjibar to try to rejoin the 25th Mechanized Brigade," according to an official. [116] The surprise attack, which involved more than 25 militants and five pickup trucks, lasted for 10 minutes after the initial assault, with three military teams later being deployed to pursue the perpetrators. [117] Seven soldiers were killed and six were wounded, while at least one attacker was confirmed dead. [116] On 28 August, 10 soldiers and 26 militants were killed, while 38 militants and 30 soldiers were wounded in fighting during the day, the clashes primarily being centered in Dofas after militants intercepted government troops advancing on the city. [118] Among the 10 dead soldiers included who were among army forces attempting to advance towards Zinjibar. [119] An official said that "army forces were able to regain control of an area west of Zinjibar for the first time since March." [120] On 29 August, six militants were killed as army forces advanced on al-Matla, 10 kilometers south of Zinjibar. [119] Warplanes had also bombed militant bases in areas around Zinjibar. [118]

On 30 August, six militants were killed during clashes in Dofas. While driving through al-Kawd visiting soldiers for the first day of eid, the motor convoy of Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed drove over an explosive device, detonating it and killing two soldiers. Ahmed was unharmed. [121] [122] On 31 August, four militants wounded by artillery shelling in Zinjibar died at a hospital in Ja'ar, while two additional militants and a civilian were also brought in. By the end of the month, AAS were still in control of ZInjibar, Ja'ar and Shuqrah, while army soldiers had recaptured the towns of Dofas, al-Kawd and al-Matla on Zinjibar's outskirts, as well as the road linking it to Aden. [123]

September 2011

On 10 September, the Yemeni Army 119th Brigade, which had defected to the opposition, launched a joint operation with 31st and 201st brigades which were still loyal to Saleh. The military claimed to have retaken the city from militants, relieving besieged army units in the process. [124] [125] Still, fighting continued in the area around the city and one military official stated that the army only managed capture the northern and eastern parts of the city. [43]

Aftermath

On 13 November, Yemeni army and tribal fighters killed nine suspected AQAP militants in fighting in Zinjibar.

On 14 January, hundreds of people displaced by months of fighting were allowed to return to their homes after a temporary deal was reached between insurgent forces and the army units. Locals described "widespread" destruction across the city and several mine fields that the army warned them about. According to reports, the militants held the western part of the city, while the east was controlled by government forces. Thousands of people previously held protests demanding an end to the fighting that has forced them to flee their homes in the south, holding several 50 km (31 mile) marches from the port city of Aden to Zinjibar. Estimates of the number of people displaced from the government operations against the militants had risen to nearly 97,000. [126]

March 2012 militant offensive

On 4 March, militants launched an attack against an Army artillery battalion on the outskirts of Zinjibar, overrunning it and killing 187 soldiers and wounding 135. 32 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters also died during the fighting. The militants attacked the Army base with booby-trapped vehicles and managed to capture armored vehicles, tanks, weapons and munitions. The military reported 55 soldiers were captured while the militant group claimed up to 73 were taken prisoner. Reinforcements from other nearby military bases came too late due to a sandstorm. It was also revealed that previous military claims of taking back the city were untrue, with the militants still controlling most of Zinjibar and a few surrounding towns, namely Jaar where they paraded the captured soldiers. In the days following the attack, the military conducted air-strikes against militant positions around Zinjibar which they claimed killed 42 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters. [127] [128] [129] [130] [131] [132]

The Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen) group that took responsibility for the attack is believed to be just a re-branding of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to make it more appealing to the devout rural population. Three days after the attack, the group let a Red Cross team into Jaar to treat 12 wounded soldiers and demanded a prisoner exchange with the government. [131]

May 2012 military offensive

Sporadic fighting in the province continued, finally culminating in a new military offensive in May 2012, with the intent of re-capturing Zinjibar and Jaar. [133] [134] On 12 June the Yemeni army succeeded in retaking Zinjibar and Jaar, pushing the militants away after heavy clashes in and around both towns. The city of Shuqrah fell on June 15, and militants retreated towards neighboring Shabwah Governorate. [135]

2015–2016 fall and recapture

Al-Qaeda's fighters stormed Jaar and Zinjibar in early December 2015 and recaptured the towns, [136] later declaring them "Emirates", providing civilian services, and establishing a Sharia court. In summer 2016 Yemeni government forces backed by Arab coalition aircraft and gunboats moved to retake the towns, and despite encountering "repeated suicide attacks" drove AQAP out of Zinjibar on 14 August 2016. [137]

Notes

  1. ↑
    • 4 killed (30 May)[ citation needed ]
    • 5 killed (31 May) [10] [11]
    • 4 killed (1 June) [12]
    • 30 killed (6–7 June) [13]
    • 9 killed (8 June) [14]
    • 12 killed (9 June) [15]
    • 18 killed (11 June) [16]
    • 4 killed (12 June) [17]
    • 1 killed (13 June) [18]
    • 7 killed (17 June) [19]
    • 17 killed (19 June) [20]
    • 27 killed (29 June) [21]
    • 1 killed (30 June) [22]
    • 15 killed (3 July) [23]
    • 13 killed (4 July) [24]
    • 40 killed (5 July) [25]
    • 4 killed (9 July) [26]
    • 35 killed (16–17 July) [27]
    • 3 killed (18–19 July) [28]
    • 10 killed (25 July) [29]
    • 7 killed (30 July) [30]
    • 15 killed (1 August) [31]
    • 17 killed (14 August) [32]
    • 5 killed (19 August) [33]
    • 2 killed (21 August) [34]
    • 6 killed (22 August) [35]
    • 8 killed (24 August) [36]
    • 2 killed (24 August) [37]
    • 39 killed (25 August) [38]
    • 26 killed (28 August) [39]
    total of 386 reported killed

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