| Fall of Zinjibar and Jaʽār | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula |
 Southern Movement | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari †[1] |
 Al-Khader Haidan[2] Abdullatif Al-Sayed | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5+ killed | 22+ killed | ||||||
In early December 2015, two Yemeni towns, Zinjibar (the provincial capital of Abyan Governorate) and Jaʽār (a town a few km inland to the north), 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.[3]
Zinjibar is close to the port of Aden, and the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb,[4] and between Aden and (what was) the AQAP's stronghold of Mukalla.[5] The al Qaeda takeover of two towns has been seem by some as a demonstration of its interest in seizing territory and not just "conducting spectacular attacks against Western targets".[3]
Zinjibar was retaken by pro-government forces on 14 August 2016.[6]
- ^ THOMAS JOSCELYN & BILL ROGGIO (4 February 2016). "Senior AQAP commander reportedly killed in US drone strike in Yemen". FDD's long war journal. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Mohammed Mukhashaf (2 December 2015). "Al Qaeda militants take over two south Yemen towns, residents say". Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
longwar-2015was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Yemeni army attacks fighters around Zinjibar". AlJazeera. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
middleeasteye.netwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
stratfor-14-8-16was invoked but never defined (see the help page).