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In the War on Terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism".^[1]

Military/police operations

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, President Ali Abdullah Saleh made an effort to eliminate the Islamist militant presence. By November 2002, Yemeni government troops detained 104 suspected al-Qaeda members.^[2]

In December 2001, a search by government forces for two Yemeni believed to be senior al Qaeda members hiding near Ma'rib led to a gun battle with tribesmen which ended in the deaths of 34 people, including 18 soldiers. To defuse the situation, ten Ma'rib sheiks were detained as hostages of the state in comfortable rooms in the presidential palace for 35 days, until 43 lesser tribesmen took their place.^[3]

In the first months of 2002 the Bush Administration approved sending about 100 Special Operations Forces to Yemen, a power base for Al Qaeda. ^[4]

In November 2002, six Yemenis suspected of being members of al Qaeda were blown up in their car in the province of Marib by a hellfire missile attack from an unmanned CIA RQ-1 Predator aircraft. Among the dead was Abu Ali al-Harithi.^[5]

In 2004, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent" investigated this targeted assassination and the involvement of then US Ambassador as part of a special report titled "The Yemen Option". The report also examined the evolving tactics and countermeasures in dealing with Al Qaeda inspired attacks.^[6]

In December 2002, Spanish troops boarded and detained a ship, at the request of the United States, that was transporting Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen. After two days, when the United States determined it had no right under international law to continue to detain the shipment, they let it continue on to Yemen.^[7][8]

On July 30, 2009, three soldiers were killed in a clash with al-Qaeda militants in Marib province.^[9]

A raid on al-Qaeda camps on December 17, 2009, led to the deaths of 34 suspected al-Qaeda members.^[10] ABC News reported that US cruise missiles were part of the bombardment of the camps, which targeted Abu Hureira Qasm al-Rimi.^[11][12] In contrast, a local official and a tribal source claimed that 49 civilians, including 23 women and 17 children, were among those killed in the strike. The same day a clash between security forces and al-Qaeda members in Abhar left four militants dead.^[13]

An air raid targeted an al-Qaeda meeting in Wadi Rafadh in Shabwa province on December 24, 2009. Another 34 al-Qaeda militants were killed in the attack. Among the dead were also Saudis and Iranians, according to the security forces. The number of al-Qaeda members arrested in the previous week rose to 29.^[13]

Attacks against civilian targets

On December 30, 2002, a suspected Islamic fundamentalist killed three US workers and wounded one in a hospital in Jibla, using a semi-automatic rifle. The suspect was arrested and identified as Abid Abdulrazzaq Al-Kamil.^[14]

Jews in Yemen reportedly fled their homes due to threats from Muslim extremists. A notable incident was the murder of Moshe Ya'ish al-Nahari of Raydah in December 2008.

Al Qaeda members sent letters to 45 Jews living in al-Salem, near Sanaa, on January 19, 2007, accusing them of involvement in an "international Zionist conspiracy". The letters said that if the Jews did not abandon their homes in ten days, they would be abducted and murdered and their homes would be looted. The Jewish community sent a complaint to President Abdullah Salah and are temporarily staying in a hotel near Sanaa. The Yemeni government has promised that their homes will be protected and they may return to them.^[15]

On September 17, 2008, Al Qaeda militants attacked the U.S. Embassy in San‘a’. 19 people were killed, including: six militants, six policemen and seven civilians. One American was among those killed.

Attacks on tourists

On July 2, 2007, a suicide bomber killed eight Spanish tourists and their two Yemeni drivers in Ma'rib.

On January 18, 2008, Al Qaeda militants opened fire on a convoy of tourists in Hadhramaut killing two Belgian tourists and two Yemenis, the tourists' driver and their guide.

Attacks targeted South Korean tourists in March 2009. Four Korean tourists alongside their local Yemeni guide were killed. Two attackers also died.

See also

• Killing of British tourists in Yemen
• USS Cole bombing
• Sa'dah insurgency
• South Yemen Insurgency

References