Al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQY) has stepped up its operations in recent months. Since the 2000 USS Cole and 2002 Limburg attacks, AQY has been relatively dormant in Yemen. However, on July 2, 2007, the group carried out a suicide bomb attack on Spanish tourists in Marib, Yemen, which killed nine and injured eight people .
In August 2007, Yemeni police arrested a number of AQY members, as well as foiled two terror plots. Recent incidents have quickly ushered in a new wave of AQY operations and activities, but with less intensity than in the past.
Militants Adopt Mainstream Tactics
Over one month after the Spanish tourist attack, Yemen security officials killed four al-Qaeda members involved in the July attack, including the second most senior leader of AQY, Qasem al-Raimi . Rami was involved in several operations in Yemen and was one of 13 convicted al-Qaeda members who escaped from a Sanaa prison in 2006 (Previous Report).
• We suspect a number of the militants involved in the recent attack plots in Yemen are associates of al-Raimi and have likely escaped from the same prison.
The US Embassy in Yemen warned earlier this month that the al-Qaeda threat in Yemen has “evolved.” According to the Warning Message, Yemen is, “experiencing terrorist actions previously unseen” in country. Suicide attacks are a relatively new phenomenon within Yemen.
• Whereas former al-Qaeda tactics carried out under the leadership of al-Nashri, the mastermind of the USS Cole attack, conducted larger, more spectacular attacks, the new “evolved” al-Qaeda members in Yemen have adopted new targets in response to security measures.
Further, on August 18, 2007, Yemeni authorities uncovered multiple AQY terrorist plots targeting government institutions in the port city of Aden. Twenty-two militants were arrested, including three al-Qaeda leaders.
The terrorists were organized into two groups and were found with false documents, including passports and entry visas. The first group was to target government facilities with remote controlled vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.
The second group was instructed to carry out a series of suicide attacks and conduct a wave of kidnappings from several prisons. Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and North Africa use similar tactics against targets in their respective battlefield.
More Arrests and Foiled Plots Expected
The arrests on August 18, 2007, came less than one week after Yemeni authorities announced the arrests of nine other militants connected to the July 2, 2007, suicide attack. We anticipate the number of AQY militant and other terrorist arrests to increase in the near-term. Militants will continue to plot attacks against government and Western targets in the mid-term; however, we believe Yemen security officials are capable of combating such threats.
