Khalid Batarfi (field commander in Hadramaut) Said Salih Abd-Rabbuh al-Omgy (recruiter and fundraiser) Muhammad Salih Abd-Rabbuh al-Omgy (facilitator) Abdallah Faysal Sadiq al Ahdal (tribal leader)
Abdullah Hassan Bamatarif (official of Sons of Hadramaut)†
Hussein Alawi al Majoh (official in Sons of Hadramaut)†
General Mubarak al-Oubthani(WIA) Major General Abdul Rahman al Halili(WIA) Faraj Salmin al Bahsani Mohammed Saeed al Jariri†[3] Brigadier general Musallam Al Rashidi (Commander of UAE Force in Hadhramout)[4]
On 24 April, UAE forces, along with Hadi loyalists, and Southern Movement fighters, attacked the de facto capital of Al-Qaeda forces in Yemen, Mukalla, and managed to recapture it after a day of fierce fighting. After that, most of AQAP forces withdrew to Abyan Governorate.[5][6]
Valley clashes and Qoton Raid
One day after the AQAP withdrawal, AQAP fighters attacked 37th brigade, loyal to Hadi in Hadramaut Valley, which killed several AQAP fighters and wounded 5 loyalists.[7] On April 27, most of the AQAP forces of Hadramaut, arrived in Zinjibar.[8] Five days after the AQAP withdrawal, on April 30, Saudi coalition and Hadi loyalists tracked down AQAP fighters in the city of Qoton, just outside of Mukalla, and took over a camp that was in their control. Eight AQAP fighters were captured during the Qoton raid.[9]
Other incidents
On May 4, a southern Movement fighter was killed, and another wounded, and 5 AQAP fighters were captured in a military raid in Ash Shihr District. One of the captured, was Sorour al-Obeidi, Emir of Ash Shihr.[10] On May 9, the unit of a Southern Movement commander, Omar bin Shikhan, arrested a leader of AQAP allied Hadrami Domestic council, named Abdullah al-Yazidi, and one of his aids.[11] One day later, another mam, leader of Council of Sunni Scholars and al Jama'a, Ahmad bin Raoud, was arrested.[12] Also, on the same day, Brigadier General of the Second Military District in Hadramaut, Faraj Salman al Bahsani claimed that government military forces arrested 30 AQAP members and found and cleared 20 vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices Mukalla District, Ash Shihr District, and Ghayl Ba Wazir District and seized AQAP weapons and documents, including lists of officials targeted for assassination. Al Bahsani stated that military forces seized at least four arms caches left behind by AQAP after coalition forces recaptured al Mukalla on April 24. On May 11, a militant possibly from AQAP, detonated himself targeting the convoy of Yemeni First Military District Commander, Major General Abdul Rahman al Halili, near al Qatan. The attack wounded al Halili and 15 others, and killed 5 soldiers and two civilians.[13] On 13 May, Hadi government said that it captured more than 250 AQAP fighters after the battle, including a leader, Mohammed Saleh al-Orabi.[14]
Port of Khalaf fighting
On May 12, fighters belonging to ISIL, in coordination with AQAP forces conducted an assault in the port of Khalaf in near Mukalla. The assault began when an ISIL suicide bomber, named Hamza Al Muhajir exploded in a naval base in Khalaf, killing 13 and wounding at least 15. A second suicide bomber struck inside the base, and a third reportedly targeted the home of Second Military District Commander Faraj Salmin, who escaped unharmed. Government forces clashed with militants outside the base in the aftermath of the attacks. ISIL claimed the SVBIED attack that targeted forces at the naval base checkpoint, but the other two attacks remain unclaimed. Government sources attributed the attack at the checkpoint to AQAP.[15][16][17]
On 15 May 2016, a suicide bomber of ISIL, named Abu al-Bara al-Ansari, exploded himself in the city's police station killing 41 police recruits, and 6 army guards of Hadramaut security chief, General Mubarak al-Oubthani. al-Oubthani was injured, along with more than 60 other police and soldiers.[18][19][20][21][22]
Continued fighting
On May 20, a US drone strike, killed two AQAP officials in Al Abr District. According to a tribal source, the air strike targeted the vehicle carrying two members of the Mahashma tribe, Ali Rafsan al-Awbashi and Mubarak Salem Qaisl al-Hawair.[23] On May 22, Hadi loyalist forces conducted a raid in an AQAP bastion little outside of Mukalla, that killed 13 fighters. An hour after the raid, 3 additional AQAP fighters were killed when they blew up a bomb they were preparing to use, near the place of the raid.[24] On June 3, Hadrami elite forces captured an Al-Qaeda cell inside Mukalla. Three of the men captured were explosive experts from Pakistan. On June 6, suspected AQAP militants riding a motorcycle assassinated army officer.
On June 28, there were at least seven separate attacks in Mukalla.[25] The attacks targeted fasting Yemeni soldiers during Ramadan, not long before they were about to break their fasting.[26] The attack not only killed soldiers, but also civilians, who were mostly passers-by. The first attack was a suicide bombing. It occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up after he asked soldiers if he could eat with them. Two suicide bombers were involved in the second attack. They also approached soldiers before blowing themselves up in two separate attacks. The fourth attack occurred when two more suicide bombers blew themselves up at the entrance to an army camp.[27] Another suicide bomber forced his way into an area where soldiers were preparing to break their fast and eat. He blew himself up and caused a substantial amount of damage. Other bombings occurred when attackers posed as distributors for Iftar, handing out food before blowing themselves up.[26] Other attacks are also said to have occurred when militants hid bombs in food boxes, and other militants also stormed a police station. Gun-battles broke out throughout the city. ISIL claimed responsibility. All of the attacks killed more than 43 Hadi loyals, and injured 37 people.[28]
July attacks and call for surrender
On July 18, two suicide bombers targeted government checkpoints manned by soldiers loyal to President Hadi in al Ghabr and al Burum districts, al Mukalla city, killing 16 soldiers, and wounding another 34. Four civilians were also killed. On July 29, military commanders of Hadramaut loyal to Hadi, called for AQAP and ISIL fighters to surrender themselves to coalition and local authorities in a time period of two weeks, and if they do so, they will be pardoned and be given general amnesty.[29]
AQAP attempted to assault and other incidents
On August 2, AQAP forces attempted a major assault to retake they former capital, Mukalla, but Hadi government security forces and Saudi-led coalition forces disrupted the coordinated attack. AQAP militants attempted to attack the port with artillery and machine guns, while others approached the port by boats. Hadi-allied forces arrested some of the attackers, but others escaped. On September 20, Hadi loyalists arrested a man who acted as a judge for AQAP during their reign in Mukalla, but did not disclosed his name.[30] On October 11, forces loyal to Hadi crushed a major Southern Movement demonstration in Mukalla, that called of independence in Southern Yemen.[31] On October 21, a suspected US aircraft, targeted two AQAP officials in Wadi Obeida, Ma'rib Governorate on October 21. The airstrike killed 5 fighters, including Abdullah Hassan Bamatarif and Hussein Alawi al Majoh, two members of the AQAP's Sons of Hadramaut, the local branch of AQAP that operated and still, operates in Hadramaut and Mukalla.[32] On 28 October, Hadi loyalists thwarted an assassination attempt on the life of General Faraj Salman al Bahsani.[33] On November 1, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the al Omgy and Brothers Money Exchange and the company's two owners, Said Salih Abd Rabbuh al Omgy and Muhammed Salih Abd Rabbuh al Omgy, as members and financial supporters of AQAP. The U.S. Treasury, in conjunction with the UAE, blocked al Omgy Exchange and the al Omgy brothers' assets, property, and access to the American and Emirati financial sectors. AQAP used al Omgy Exchange for financial transactions beginning in December 2013. Said al Omgy fund-raised and recruited Yemenis to join the Iraqi insurgency in 2005. The al Omgy brothers are based in Mukalla.[34]
Al Bahish grove fighting and other incidents
On November 8, Hadrami Elite Forces, clashed with AQAP militants in western al Mukalla City, killing six AQAP militants, and capturing another 4. Saudi-led coalition warplanes supported the elite forces during the clashes.[35] On November 9, the Hadrami Elite forces attacked AQAP militants in al Bahish grove near Mayfa'a Hajar town, southwest of al Mukalla city, with support of Saudi-led coalition warplanes. Hadrami Elite forces raided the AQAP stronghold following intelligence reports indicating that AQAP militants were regrouping in al Bahish grove. The clash lasted almost one full day. The military source claimed that Hadrami forces killed more than 30 AQAP militants and suffered four casualties. One day later however, AQAP statements said that claims that Hadrami Elite forces killed more than 20 AQAP militants in al Bahish grove, were untrue, and claimed that killed 28 Hadrami fighters and reported that Saudi-led coalition Apaches killed three AQAP militants. Social media accounts also claimed that AQAP has recovered from its withdrawal from Yemen's coastal cities and has reconstituted.[36] One day after the clashes, Hadrami elite managed to track down the assailants, and captured 11 of them. On November 30, a US drone strike, killed 3 AQAP fighters in Al Abr District.[37] On December 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on two Yemeni citizens and a Yemeni-based charity for financially supporting AQAP. Al Hasan Ali Ali Abkar is an AQAP commander for Ma'rib and al Jawf governorates who has been affiliated with the AQAP since 2015. Abdallah Faysal Sadiq al Ahdal is a senior tribal leader in Hadramawt governorate who participated in an AQAP cell in Ash Shahir, Hadramawt and has supported AQAP since 2009. Al Ahdal was also the president of the Rahmah Charitable Organization, which is located in Ash Shahir and has acted as a front to finance AQAP.[38][39] On December 27, AQAP fighters ambushed the director general of the Shibam District in Shibam, Faraj Naji, wounding him, and killing two of his aids, his brother, Saleh Faraj Naji, and his cousin.[40]
Low level insurgency, formation of STC, and battle of Daw'an
Civilians protested around al Mukalla airport, on January 9, 2017 in response to alleged arbitrary detentions conducted by the Hadhrami Elite Forces. The Hadhrami Elite Force, reportedly accused the detainees of terrorist activities. Protesters are calling on the UAE to ensure the release of innocent detainees. Yemeni officials have released contradictory statements that refused to provide evidence for the suspects' detention and at times denied the existence of the detainees. Tribal militias also blocked the main road connecting Ataq, Shabwah Governorate with Mukalla to protest the detentions.[41][42] On March 3, 2017, suspected AQAP forces assaulted a checkpoint manned by tribesmen loyal to Hadi in Daw'an District, killing 4, and wounding 2, and later retreating unharmed.[43] On March 14, a US drone strike, killed two AQAP officials, who were also poets, named Abu Jandal al-Hadrami and Abu Hashem al Sharuri, in Al Abr District. On March 15, AQAP forces attacked Hadrami Elite forces in Adh Dhlia'ah District, wounding 3, and later retreating unharmed.[44] On March 27, Hadrami Elit forces captured the deputy of AQAP leader Qasim al-Raymi, who also acted as the Emir of Hadramaut for AQAP, Abu Ali al Sayari, in central Hadramaut. 3 of his aid were also captured, and 2 more were killed, including an official, Hathifa al Ghili.[45][46][47] On April 22, another AQAP commander captured in Mukalla by Hadrami Elit forces, named Ahmed Said Awad Barhamah, who was also known as Zarqawi, a reference to the Abu Muzab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The man, acts and acted as the Emir of ruler of Mukalla for AQAP.[48][49][50][51] On 23 April, AQAP militants attacked Hadhrami Elite Forces Daw'an District, killing 2. meanwhile, residents of al Mukalla city, celebrated the one year anniversary of the city's liberation from AQAP on April 24.[52] On May 3, Hadramaut Governor Ahmed bin Breik threatened to secede from the Yemeni government led by President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi if the government fails to achieve peace with the al Houthi-Saleh bloc. Bin Brik's May 3 statement coincides with ongoing protests in Aden against President Hadi's decision to remove Aden governor Aydarus al Zubaidi, a senior leader in the Southern Movement.[53][54] Between May 5 and May 7, fighting erupted in Daw'an District, between AQAP and Hadrami Elite forces, which resulted in the seizure of the district from AQAP, and the destruction of an army camp in the area. No reports of casualties emerged.[55][56][57] On May 10, an AQAP suicide bomber exploded himself in Daw'an, killing more than 1 Hadrami Elite and wounding another 7.[58] On May 12, was reported that forces loyal to Hadi, mobilized in Al Abr District, to counter the STC loyal Hadrami Elite forces.[59] On May 18, the governor of Hadramaut accused the Hadi loyalists in the region, of supporting AQAP.[60][61] On May 23, 18 jailed men accused of supporting AQAP were released by an order of Hadramaut governor.[62]
Fighting in Daw'an and other incidents
On June 12, AQAP forces attacked the Hadrami Elite forces base in Daw'an, and heavy fighting commenced. The Hadrami Elite force stated that they killed more than 10 AQAP fighters, and captured dozens more, but two of its soldiers were killed, and 16 were wounded. The Hadrami officials stated that "attackers set off two car bombs outside the camp, but our soldiers foiled the attack and managed to secure the camp and we are still pursuing those who have escaped in nearby farms," the official told Reuters by phone.[63][64]
Operation Al Faisal
On February 17, 2018 Hadrami Elite Forces, backed by heavy UAE aerial support, launched Operation Al Faisal, an offensive to retake Al-Masini Valley from AQAP militants. The offensive began when Hadrami Elite Forces launched a preemptive attack from three directions, that laid siege to all AQAP militants in the valley. On February 18 Hadrami Elite Forces had entered the valley and begun to slowly liberate all areas in and around the valley. After fierce fighting for 48 hours, AQAP militants retreated from the valley and Hadramai forces gained full control over an operation room that was run by AQAP militants in the valley and confiscated the equipment and ammunition used by the terror group in carrying out its criminal operations. 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. Furthermore, while combing the area, large caches of ammunition, including mortar guns and missiles were found and the Yemeni forces secured the entire zone by staging military posts and patrol units across the surrounding plateaus to preempt any counter offensives by the terrorists.[65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73]
Operation Black Mountains
On 28 April, the Yemeni Army announced "Operation Black Mountains" against Al-Qaeda in the northern areas of Hadramaut.[74] On 29 April 2018, the Yemeni military units backed by the United Arab Emirates reported recapturing the Amed, Dhalia, Hajer, and Yabouth districts from Al-Qaeda.[75]
Mukalla, officially the Mukalla City District, is a seaport and the capital city district 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.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP is a Sunni Islamist militant organization which seeks to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic emirate. Part of the al-Qaeda network, the group is based and primarily active in Yemen, while also conducting operations in Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's affiliates that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.
Qasim Yahya Mahdi al-Raymi was a Yemeni militant who was the emir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Raymi was one of 23 men who escaped in the 3 February 2006 prison-break in Yemen, along with other notable al-Qaeda members. Al-Raymi was connected to a July 2007 suicide bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists. In 2009, the Yemeni government accused him of being responsible for the running of an al-Qaeda training camp in Abyan province. After serving as AQAP's military commander, al-Raymi was promoted to leader after the death of Nasir al-Wuhayshi on 12 June 2015.
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 groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
On 21 May 2012, a suicide bomber attacked Yemeni soldiers hereasing for annual Unity Day military parade in Sana'a, Yemen. The bombing, which unsuccessfully targeted Yemeni Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, killed at least 96 soldiers and wounded 222, making it the worst in Yemen's history. The attack was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula affiliate Ansar al-Sharia.
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 Jaʽār, 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 Southern Abyan Offensive refers to a 2016 offensive that AQAP launched in late February, which ended with a victory for AQAP as Yemeni tribal fighters loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi were driven out of the Abyan Governorate.
The Aden unrest was a conflict between Islamist factions, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Yemen Branch, against the loyalists of president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and later to conflict between UAE-backed and Saudi-backed factions within the coalition. In 2017, fighting also broke out between factions aligned with different members of the Saudi-led coalition namely Saudi Arabia-backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Al-Islah and UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council and Southern Movement.
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 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.
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.
Abdullatif Al-Sayed Bafaqih was a Southern Yemeni warlord from Abyan who played a major role during the wars against Al-Qaeda after 2012 in Abyan Governorate.
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.
Ghalib Ahmed Baquaiti, also known as Abu Hajar al-Hadhrami (1986–2015) was a Yemeni jihadist poet and munshid.
↑ "الإعلان عن تطهير آخر معاقل القاعدة في حضرموت"[Announcing the cleansing of the last Al-Qaeda strongholds in Hadramaut] (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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United Arab Emirates 
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Islamic State – Yemen Province 
General Mubarak al-Oubthani (WIA)
United Arab Emirates Armed Forces 
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