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Revision as of 03:42, 20 December 2024 by Hsnkn (talk | contribs) (Name translations)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Previous al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen| Al-Qaeda in Yemen | |
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| تنظيم القاعدة في اليمن Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Yemen | |
 Flag used by the group | |
| Founder | Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (POW) |
| Leaders | Abu Ali al-Harithi † (1998 – 2002) Muhammad al-Ahdal (POW) (2002 – 2003) |
| Dates of operation | 1998 – 2003 and 2006 – 2009 |
| Active regions |  Yemen |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism Salafi Jihadism |
| Part of |  Al-Qaeda |
| Allies | |
| Opponents | Yemen France |
| Battles and wars | War on terror Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen |
Succeeded by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula | |
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.
AQY was established in late 1998 as a cell led by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi member of al-Qaeda central who had convinced Osama bin Laden to fund an attack on a United States military target in Yemen. Bin Laden obliged, appointing al-Nashiri as al-Qaeda's head of operations in the Persian Gulf and leaving him to plan and execute the attack. Al-Nashiri's plans would come to fruition when AQY bombed the USS Cole while it was docked at the Port of Aden in October 2000. Though it was al-Qaeda's largest success at that point, the bombing, which was followed by the September 11 attacks the next year, would lead to an intense counterterrorism campaign by the Yemeni and US governments which would cripple AQY's operational capacity. Al-Nashiri was arrested by Yemeni authorities in November 2002, while a US drone strike killed AQY leader Abu Ali al-Haritha in the same month. After the arrest of replacement leader Muhammad al-Ahdal in 2003, AQY was regarded as largely defeated.
In February 2006, a prison break in Sanaa lead to the escape of 23 members of al-Qaeda. The escapees, most notably Nasir al-Wuhayshi and Qasim al-Raymi, would rebuild al-Qaeda's presence in Yemen under the name of AQLY. Though the groups first attack, a pair of coordinated suicide car bombings on two Yemeni oil facilities in September 2006, would end up failing, AQLY would prove to be more resilient and appealable to locals than its predecessor group. AQLY was officially announced as al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen in the summer of 2007, with Wuhayshi being named as the groups leader. From there, AQLY launched several high-profile attacks in Yemen against local and foreign targets, most notably a car bombing against Spanish tourists in Marib in 2007 and an attack on the US embassy in Sanaa in 2008. In 2009, AQLY merged with al-Qaeda's struggling branch in Saudi Arabia to form al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
History
1998–1999: Establishment
With the rise of the Taliban in the mid-1990's, Osama bin Laden felt it a priority to cultivate ties with the militant group and move al-Qaeda's base of operations from Sudan to Afghanistan, leaving Yemen mostly out of the picture in terms of the groups activities during this time period. This had changed in late 1998 when Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a former Saudi mujahideen who joined al-Qaeda earlier in the year, prosopsed to Bin Laden an attack on a US vessel after observing American ships docked without protection at the Port of Aden. Bin Laden approved of the idea, designating al-Nashiri as al-Qaeda's head of operations in the Persian Gulf and directing him to begin planning for the attack while providing money and operatives. Abu Ali al-Harithi, a Yemeni militant and close associate of Bin Laden who fled to Afghanistan in 1997, was reportedly ordered to begin attacks in Yemen some time before 2000. Al-Harithi would come to be recognized as the highest ranking leader of AQY.
2000: USS Cole bombing
Main article: USS Cole bombing
AQY's first major attack came with the attempted bombing of the USS The Sullivans on 3 January 2000. The attack was a failure, as the suicide boat containing the explosives sank before it could reach the ship. Al-Nashiri's plan would later come to fruition with the bombing of the USS Cole on 12 October 2000. On that morning, while the Cole was docked at the Port of Aden, two AQY suicide bombers drove a small boat loaded with explosives into the side of the ship, killing 17 American sailors and blowing a 40-foot hole in its hull. While the bombing was al-Qaeda's most high-profile attack yet, the operation wasn't a full reflection of AQY's power as most of the militants involved in the attack were either more closely associated with al-Qaeda central rather than the cell in Yemen, or played no significant further role within AQY.
2001–2003: Pressure and decline
Under significant pressure from the United States due to the Cole attack the previous year as well as the September 11 attacks, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh decided to crack down on jihadists and coordinate counterterrorism operations with the support of the US. AQY would engage in few significant activities or propaganda efforts during 2001. Al-Harithi along with AQY's chief financial officer Muhammed al-Ahdal would move to the village of al-Hosun in the tribal areas of Marib Governorate in August 2001. There, they would be targeted by Yemeni forces in a raid on 18 December 2001 which would end up failing as both militants escaped and tribal resistance lead to the deaths of 19 soldiers.
On 6 October 2002, AQY launched their second major attack, a suicide bombing targeting the French oil tanker MV Limburg. In a similar vein to the USS Cole attack, a suicide bomber drove a small explosive-laden boat into the side of the Limburg, killing one crew member and spilling thousands of oil barrels into the Gulf of Aden. Despite yielding a far less successful outcome, the bombing represented a turning point in AQY as an indigenous movement in Yemen. Funded by al-Nashiri and allegedly endorsed by Bin Laden, the planning of the bombing involved a group of Yemenis, many of them trained in Afghanistan a year prior, travelling to Mukalla in Hadhramaut Governorate to organize and prepare the attack. Many participants in the Limburg attack would come to hold high-ranking positions in AQY's later iteration. Fawaz al-Rabeiee, a participant in the bombing, organized a second cell for the attempted shootdown of a Hunt Oil helicopter using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms on 3 November 2002.
On the same day, the CIA launched a drone strike on a car travelling through the al-Naqaa desert in Marib Governorate, killing four militants from the al-Qaeda-aligned Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, American al-Qaeda supporter Kamal Derwish and Abu Ali al-Harithi. The death of AQY's leader proved a significant blow to the organization, which subsequently had dozens of its supporters detained by Yemeni authorities through late 2002 and early 2003 and experienced a "precipitous membership decline" by the end of the year. Muhammed al-Ahdal, who allegedly replaced al-Harithi as AQY's leader, was arrested on 25 November 2003 in a sting operation through a tip from an AQY member. The capture of al-Ahdal effectively signalled the defeat of AQY's first iteration.
See more
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Yemen's al-Qaeda: Expanding the Base". International Crisis Group. 2017-02-17. Archived from the original on 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ Johnsen, Gregory (2009-07-14). "Waning Vigilance: Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Yemen". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- "Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland". National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004-07-22. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ "Profile: Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harthi". BBC News. 2002-11-05. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ Vick, Karl (2002-10-17). "Yemen Pursuing Terror Its Own Way". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2024-12-20. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- Meyers, Steven Lee (2000-11-10). "Failed Plan To Bomb A U.S. Ship Is Reported". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- Bass, Warren (2019-01-10). "The Bin Laden Attack That Two Presidents Failed to Answer". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2019-02-18. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- Isikoff, Michael (2010-10-12). "U.S. failure to retaliate for USS Cole attack rankled then — and now". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
- ^ "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)". Council on Foreign Relations. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- "Yemen cautious on battle against al-Qaeda". BBC News. 2002-01-23. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- "Yemen says tanker blast was terrorism". BBC News. 2002-10-16. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- "6 suspected Al-Qaeda men die in Yemen blast". Arab News. 2002-11-05. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- "U.S. Predator Kills 6 Al Qaeda Suspects". ABC News. 2002-11-05. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- Chan, Sue (2002-12-03). "CIA's License To Kill". CBS News. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- "Yemen, US spar over al-Qaida leader". Al Jazeera. 2003-11-30. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
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