September 2006 Yemen attacks

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September 2006 Yemen attacks
Part of the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
Yemen adm location map.svg
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Al-Dhabba Port
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Safer oil refinery
Location Al-Dhabba Port, Hadhramaut Governorate, Yemen
Safer oil refinery, Marib Governorate, Yemen
Coordinates 14°41′47″N49°29′28″E / 14.69641°N 49.49106°E / 14.69641; 49.49106 and
15°33′55″N45°47′06″E / 15.56523°N 45.78504°E / 15.56523; 45.78504
Date15 September 2006 (2006-09-15)
5:15 a.m. – 5:50 a.m. AST (UTC+3)
TargetOil facilities
Attack type
 Suicide car bombing
Deaths5 (including 4 attackers)
Injured0
PerpetratorsIslamic State flag.svg Al-Qaeda in Yemen
No. of participants
4

On 15 September 2006, four militants attempted suicide attacks on two different oil facilities in Yemen. Two militants each driving car bombs attempted to target an oil storage facility at the Canadian-Yemeni al-Dhabba Port in Hadhramaut governorate, but their vehicles exploded prematurely after security opened fire on them, killing a guard. Another two militants tried car bombing the Safer oil refinery in Marib governorate shortly after, though they too were killed before their vehicles could reach the target. The attacks were claimed by al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY).

Contents

Background

In February 2006, 23 members of al-Qaeda escaped from a prison in Sana'a. From there, AQY would rebuild itself under the leadership of escapee Nasir al-Wuhayshi and senior leader Qasim al-Raymi, both of whom took part in planning the September attacks. [1] [2] By the time of the attack, 14 of the 23 escaped prisoners were still at large. [3] AQY had previously attacked a French oil tanker MV Limburg while near the al-Dhabba Port in 2002. [3]

Days prior to the bombings, al-Qaeda released a video message coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in which deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri declared the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as well as Israel as the groups next targets, blaming oil facilities within the countries for stealing Muslim wealth. [4] [3] The attack occurred only four days before the 2006 Yemeni presidential election. [4]

Al-Dhabba attack

At 5:15 a.m. AST (UTC+3), two pickup trucks loaded with explosives drove at high speeds towards the oil storage tanks at the al-Dhabba port, which "filled a huge amount of oil," according to officials. [5] [3] The attack was reportedly timed to coincide with morning shift changes at the installation. [6] One of the drivers was wearing a uniform similar to that of the workers at the facility while the other driver was wearing a military uniform. [5] One vehicle drove through the main gate and opened fire on the security guards at the port, killing one while the second vehicle attempted to advance behind it. [4] The guards returned fire at the militants, exploding their vehicles before they could reach their targets. [7] Shrapnel from the explosions caused a small fire in one of the storage tanks but it was quickly put out. [8] No significant damage to the facility was reported. [9]

Safer attack

At 5:50 a.m. AST, two white cars loaded with explosives and hand grenades, which were reportedly similar to those driven by staff at the facility, drove towards the Safer oil refinery in Marib city. [8] [5] The militants attempted to break into the facility; one vehicle drove through the main fence about 200 meters from the installation’s main plant while the other vehicle breached the inner fence about 20 meters from the plant. [10] [5] Security guards confronted the militants, one of whom was firing at them, and blew up the cars before they reached the main facility. [4] [7] No injuries or significant damage to the facility was reported, but debris from the blast was strewn around the site. Explosives experts later investigated the scene to scan for unexploded devices. [5]

Responsibility

On 7 November, AQY claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement posted on an Islamist website. [11] Dated Ramadan 20, which corresponds to October 13, the statement vowed more attacks against "the Americans and their allies among the worshippers of the cross and their apostate aides." [12] The group said that the attack was done on the orders of Osama bin Laden to "hit the Western economy and stop the robbing of Muslims' wealth." [13] It urged Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to "repent, return to his faith, apply Islamic law, renounce democracy, the religion of America, and abandon (his) alliance with the infidels", adding that the attacks acted as revenge for the deaths of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abu Ali al-Harithi. [12]

On 6 November 2007, pro al-Qaeda websites displayed a video message of one of the suicide bombers in the attack, Shafiq Ahmad Omar Zaid. He said that "We are God's bombs at your disposal," while addressing Osama bin Laden, proclaiming to "Kill the infidels and do not be intimidated by their numbers or equipment." [9]

Investigation

Later in September, Yemeni authorities announced that they had broken up an AQY cell that organized the attacks, seizing explosives intended for use in a bombing in Sana'a. [12] [14]

On 1 October, Yemeni security forces killed Fawaz al-Rubaiee, a key AQY member who oversaw the training of the suicide bombers in the attack, during a raid in Sanaa. [15] [1]

On 4 March 2007, a Yemeni court charged 36 people, including six in absentia, with taking part in the bombing attempts. [14] All of the present suspects pleaded not guilty, with six of them, including Abu Bakr al-Rubaiee, the lead suspect and brother of Fawaz al-Rubaiee, claiming to have been tortured by authorities into giving forced confessions. [16] On 7 November 2007, 32 suspects were charged and sentenced to two to 15 years in prison for “forming an armed gang aimed at carrying out sabotage attacks." [2] [16] Six suspects were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for preparing the attacks, while al-Wuhayshi and al-Raymi were sentenced in absentia for their role in the attack as well as the for the July 2007 Marib car bombing. [2] Four of the 36 suspects were acquitted based on lack of evidence, including the bodyguard of previous Presidential candidate Faisal Bin Shamlan. [2]

Reactions

A statement from the Yemeni Interior Ministry said that attacks will not stop the nation from "continuing its persistent efforts to fight terrorism and the terrorist elements of darkness that are trying to undermine the security and stability of the country and its interests." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in Saudi Arabia</span>

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia has mainly been attributed to Islamic extremists. Their targets included foreign civilians—Westerners affiliated with its oil-based economy—as well as Saudi Arabian civilians and security forces. Anti-Western attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia dating back to 1995. Saudi Arabia itself has been accused of funding terrorism in other countries, including Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aden-Abyan Islamic Army</span>

The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army was a Sunni Islamist militant group based in southern Yemen founded by Abu Hasan Zayn al-Abadin al-Mihdhar. The groups goals were to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic state, as well as support the jihad of al-Qaeda. AAIA was designated a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Canada and the United Kingdom. AAIA is thought to have organized in southern Yemen in the mid 1990s, with members that include veterans from the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Their stated mission is to "promote jihad in the fight against secularism in Yemen and other Arab States; to establish an Islamic government in Yemen". By 2009, the group's remaining members had subsumed in the newly formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The following is a list of attacks which have been carried out by Al-Qaeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)</span> Sunni Islamic insurgency in the Maghreb

An Islamist insurgency is taking place in the Maghreb region of North Africa, followed on from the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002. The Algerian militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) allied itself with al-Qaeda to eventually become al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The Algerian and other Maghreb governments fighting the militants have worked with the United States and the United Kingdom since 2007, when Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Marib suicide car bombing</span> Suicide car bombing and casualties in Marib

On 2 July 2007, a car bomber drove into a convoy of Spanish tourists visiting the Queen of Sheba temple near Marib in Marib Governorate, Yemen. The suicide bombing killed eight tourists along with two of their Yemeni drivers. Al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack.

On 17 September 2008, a group of seven militants attacked the United States embassy in Sanaa, Yemen. The attackers first attempted to infiltrate the embassy compound disguised as security forces, but later resorted to an attempt to breach the wall of the embassy with a suicide car bomb after they were compromised, though the bombing failed as the vehicle had detonated from an inner security checkpoint before reaching the target. The attack killed 19 people, including the attackers, and injured 16, though no embassy staff of diplomats were killed or injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qasim al-Raymi</span> Yemeni al-Qaeda member (1978–2020)

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.

Two suicide bombings took place in March 2009 targeting nationals of South Korea in Yemen. The first, which occurred on 15 March, targeted a group of South Korean tourists visiting the city of Shibam in Hadhramaut Governorate. The bomber detonated an explosive belt as he was taking a picture with the tourists, killing four of them along with their Yemeni tour guide and injuring three more. On 18 March, another suicide bomber attempted to attack a convoy of South Korean investigators and relatives of the victims in Sanaa, though the bombing failed and resulted in no casualties expect for the perpetrator. Both attacks were claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen</span> Ongoing conflict

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.

Ali bin Ali Douha was a citizen of Yemen described as an al Qaeda leader. He was reported to have died during a raid by Yemeni security officials on August 9, 2007. Qasim al Rimi and two other suspected militants were reported to have been killed during the raid. Yemeni security officials are reported to have been tracking the suspects by helicopter 15 kilometers outside of Ma'rib.

The Battle of Radda was a military confrontation in March 2013, initially launched by Al-Qaeda in an apparent reprisal for the Yemen army's offensive against their stronghold of al-Manasseh following the collapse of talks to free the three Western hostages believed to be held in the area, of whom a Finnish couple and an Austrian man who were studying Arabic in Yemen, when they were snatched by local tribesmen in the capital city of Sanaa, where they were then sold to al-Qaeda militants and transferred to the southern province of al-Bayda, where the city of al-Manasseh is located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Yemeni Ministry of Defense attack</span> 2013 militant attack in Yemen

On 5 December 2013, a coordinated terrorist attack occurred targeting the Ministry of Defense complex in Sana'a, Yemen. Heavily armed militants utilized a car bomb to breach the gates of the complex before storming it and occupying a hospital within it. The attack, which killed 52 people and injured 167, was claimed by Ansar al-Sharia, an affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP later issued an apology for the attack after footage from within the hospital was broadcast showing the gunmen murdering medical personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drone strikes in Yemen</span> United States drone strikes in Yemen

United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda in Yemen</span> Previous al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen

Al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY), also known as al-Qaeda in the Land of Yemen (AQLY) and al-Qaeda in the Southern Arabian Peninsula (AQSAP) in its later iteration, was a Sunni Islamist militant organization which existed between 1998 to 2003, and 2006 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Wadi Dawan ambush</span> Attack against Belgian tourists in Yemen

On 18 January 2008, a convoy of Belgian tourists was ambushed while travelling through the Wadi Dawan in Hadhramaut Governorate, Yemen. The convoy was attacked by four gunmen waiting in a pickup truck, killing two tourists and two Yemeni drivers, along with injuring four others. The attack was claimed by the Jund al-Yemen Brigades, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY).

On 6 October 2002, a small boat loaded with explosives was driven into side of the MV Limburg, a French oil tanker preparing to dock at a port near the city of Mukalla in Yemen. Excluding the two suicide bombers, the attack killed one crew member, injured 12, and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni officials initially denied that the explosion was a terrorist attack, though they eventually admitted it after a joint investigation conducted with French officials assisted by United States Navy officers ruled it as so. The attack was conducted by al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen.

References

  1. 1 2 Koehler-Derrick, Gabriel (2011-10-03). "A False Foundation? AQAP, Tribes and Ungoverned Spaces in Yemen" (PDF). CTC Westpoint . Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Al-Mahdi, Khaled (2007-11-08). "Yemeni Court Jails 32 Over Attacks". Arab News . Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Suicide Bombers Foiled In Yemen". CBS News . 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Yemen foils oil refinery attacks". Al Jazeera . 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Yemen Foils Attacks on Oil Facilities". Arab News . 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  6. ↑ "Attack on oil facilities foiled in Yemen - Africa & Middle East - International Herald Tribune". The New York Times . 2006-09-15. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  7. 1 2 "Yemen 'foils oil plant attacks'". BBC News . 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  8. 1 2 "Yemen foils 2 attempts to blow up oil facilities". NBC News . 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  9. 1 2 "Yemen jails 32 for Al Qaeda oil attacks". ABC News Australia . 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  10. ↑ "Authorities foil 2 bombings at oil facilities in Yemen". CBC News . 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Al Qaeda claims Yemen oil attacks, vows more strikes". The New Zealand Herald . 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  12. 1 2 3 "Qaeda claims Yemen oil attacks, vows more strikes". Reuters . 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  13. ↑ "Al Qaida says it carried out Yemen oil attacks". Gulf News . 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  14. 1 2 "Yemeni court charges 35 suspects over oil attacks". Reuters . 2007-03-07. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  15. ↑ "Al-Qaeda fugitive killed in Yemen". BBC News . 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  16. 1 2 "Yemen convicts 'al-Qaeda' attackers". Al Jazeera . 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
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