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Aden-Abyan Islamic Army

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Aden-Abyan Islamic Army
جيش عدن أبين الإسلامي
LeadersAbu Hasan Zayn al-Abadin al-Mihdhar (1996 or 1997–1998) †[1]
Khalid Abd al-Nabi (1998–2009)
Dates of operation1996 or 1997–2009[2]
HeadquartersAbyan, Yemen
Active regionsSouthern Yemen
IdeologySalafist jihadism
Islamic fundamentalism
Size30–100[3]
Allies Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Ansar al-Sharia
Opponents Yemen
Battles and warsAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen

The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (AAIA, Arabic: جيش عدن أبين الإسلامي) was a Sunni Islamist militant group based in southern Yemen founded by Abu Hasan Zayn al-Abadin al-Mihdhar.[4] The groups goals were to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic state, as well as support the jihad of al-Qaeda.[5] AAIA was designated a terrorist organization by Bahrain,[6] Canada and the United Kingdom.[7] AAIA is thought to have organized in southern Yemen in the mid 1990s, with members that include veterans from the Soviet war in Afghanistan.[8] 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".[9] By 2009, the group's remaining members had subsumed in the newly formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[10]

History

[edit]

During the Soviet-Afghan War, thousands of Yemenis joined the Afghan mujahideen and took part in jihad against the Soviet Union before returning to Yemen after their withdrawal.[11] Among these returning veterans in the early 1990's included commander Abu Hasan Zayn al-Abadin al-Mihdhar, a native of Shabwah governorate who managed to recruit various fighters under his command in Afghanistan.[12] These fighters would be utilized and directly supported by the Yemeni government and military commander Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to fight the southern secessionist Yemeni Socialist Party during the Yemeni civil war of 1994.[12] President Ali Abdullah Saleh had promised the fighters that once the war was over the government would implement sharia law, though this promise was never fulfilled.[13] After the war, al-Mihdhar and his fighters officially formed the AAIA in 1996 or 1997 in order to fulfil the establishment of an Islamic state.[14][11]

The group's first activities were conducted in May 1998 and June 1998 when it started releasing various declarations criticizing the policies of the Yemeni government.[15][11] In December 1998, AAIA militants kidnapped a group of 16 Western tourists in Abyan governorate, demanding the Yemeni government release two recently arrested Islamist clerics operating in southern Yemen.[16][15] The Yemeni military launched a rescue operation the subsequent day, raiding an AAIA hideout in a battle which killed four of the tourists and several militants, as well as the capture of al-Mihdhar, who was executed a year later.[11][16] The Yemeni government publicly stated that the AAIA was dismantled after the attack, though most independent sources maintain that the group remained active, albeit significantly weakened.[17][12]

In January 2000, the AAIA directly collaborated with al-Qaeda in an attempt to bomb the USS The Sullivans by loading a boat with remote controlled explosives, though the attack was a failure as the boat immediately sank.[15] In October 2000, two al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY) skiff drivers bombed the USS Cole off the harbor of Aden, killing 17 U.S. sailors.[18] Though the AAIA, along with multiple other organizations, claimed responsibility for the attack, American and Yemeni officials determined that the attack was conducted directly by al-Qaeda affiliates in the country.[15][11][14] In November 2002, a CIA drone strike in Marib governorate killed AQY leader Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi along with four AAIA members travelling together in a car.[19][11]

On 22 June 2003, AAIA militants attacked an army medical convoy providing humanitarian work near the mountainous Jabal Hatat region in Abyan, wounding seven.[20] In response, on 25 June 2003 Yemeni forces launched a major offensive against AAIA strongholds in Jabal Hatat.[15][21] At that point, nearly 80 AAIA members were reportedly besieged in the mountains.[20] The offensive lead to the arrest of 11 AAIA members and the deaths of six, including AAIA leader Khalid Abd al-Nabi, though authorities later stated that they had mistaken another militant for al-Nabi.[22] In September 2003, the Yemeni government announced that they would grant amnesty to al-Qaeda linked militants so long as they renounced their extremist views and refrain from violence.[22] In October 2003, al-Nabi was turned himself in and was released by authorities after renouncing violence.[5][23] In November 2003, the government pardoned and released 93 militants, including 54 AAIA members from Jabal Hatat who had surrendered since the amnesty was announced.[24][21]

References

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  1. ^ Cook, David (2 January 2006). "Aden-Abyan Islamic Army". Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2006.
  2. ^ "PARADIGMATIC JIHADI MOVEMENTS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Appendix F – Statement of Reasons – Islamic Army of Aden (IAA)". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  4. ^ Pike, John. "Aden-Abyan Islamic Army". www.globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2006.
  5. ^ a b "Appendix F – Statement of Reasons – Islamic Army of Aden (IAA)". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Bahrain Terrorist List (Individuals – entities)".
  7. ^ Terrorism Act 2000 (11, Schedule 2). 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Aden-Abyan Islamic Army | militant organization". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) – Mackenzie Institute". Mackenzie Institute. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  10. ^ Al-Muslimi, Farea; Baron, Adam (27 March 2017). "The Limits of US Military Power in Yemen: Why Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continues to thrive". Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Cook, David (2 January 2006). "Paradigmatic Jihadi Movements" (PDF). CTC Westpoint. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Johnsen, Gregory D. (13 July 2006). "The Resiliency of Yemen's Aden-Abyan Islamic Army". The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  13. ^ Abdul-Ahad, Ghaith (22 August 2010). "Al-Qaida in Yemen: Poverty, corruption and an army of jihadis willing to fight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. ^ a b Schanzer, Jonathan (21 October 2002). "Behind the French Tanker Bombing: Yemen's Ongoing Problems with Islamist Terrorism". The Washington Institute. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e Schanzer, Jonathan (2005). "Al-Qaeda's Armies: Middle East Affiliate Groups & the Next Generation of Terror" (PDF). The Washington Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  16. ^ a b Boggan, Steve (30 December 1998). "Hostages abroad: Death in land of 'safe' kidnaps". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  17. ^ Kendall, Elizabeth (31 July 2018). "Contemporary Jihadi Militancy in Yemen" (PDF). Middle East Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  18. ^ "USS Cole bombing: Sudan agrees to compensate families". BBC. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  19. ^ "U.S. Predator Kills 6 Al Qaeda Suspects". ABC News. 5 November 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Four Yemeni rebels held". Al Jazeera. 24 June 2003. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  21. ^ a b Schanzer, Jonathan (26 November 2003). "Yemen's al-Qaeda Amnesty: Revolving Door or Evolving Strategy?". The Washington Institute. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Yemeni imam extradited to US". Al Jazeera. 17 November 2003. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Five al-Qaeda Militants arrested, al-Nabi freed". Yemen Times. 15 October 2003. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  24. ^ Al-Qadhi, Mohammed (20 November 2003). "92 al-Qaeda and AAIA suspects to be freed". Yemen Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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