Al-Qaeda spreads poisons of terrorism in southern Yemen with Iranian support

Ahmed Adel

Al-Qaeda is carrying out armed operations with the aim of destabilizing stability and security in the southern region of Yemen, the latest of which was the assassination of a prominent leader in the counterterrorism unit of the Security Belt Forces, Captain Fawzi Shaif al-Bakri, on April 27 after targeting a security patrol that was carrying him.

Bakri was carrying out his duties within the counterterrorism unit in the town of Ambaqira in the Wadi Omran area in eastern Mudiya district overlooking the Arabian Sea, and he died instantly as a result of the attack.

Security strikes

Osama al-Hatimi, a researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, said that the escalation of the attacks by al-Qaeda in the southern Yemeni governorate of Abyan, which resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens of soldiers and civilians, including children, goes back some time, as the terrorist organization was subjected to strong security blows in the recent period, which most prominently resulted in the removal of its control over vast areas in the south of Yemen and confining it to narrower areas, in addition to the assassination of a number of its leaders.

Hatimi confirmed in a special statement to the Reference that the organization may have aimed for the escalation to send two messages, the first to the elements of the organization inside and outside Yemen to raise their morale that it is still capable of action, and the second to the legitimate Yemeni forces, stating that the recent strikes did not eliminate it and that its response will be violent. This explains the intensification of the organization’s attacks in Abyan during the previous months until now, as this represents one of the repercussions of the Southern Transitional Council’s announcement in August 2022 of the launch of Operation Arrows of the East to secure Abyan, which came two years after the killing of the al-Qaeda leader Qasim al-Raymi.

Iranian role

The Iranian role cannot be excluded from what is happening in Abyan or other southern governorates in Yemen, Hatimi  added, as these governorates are considered areas controlled by the legitimate Yemeni government, which is fighting with the Houthis, who were able to impose their control over areas in the north of Yemen. Hence, there is a clear goal for Iran and the Houthis to weaken the south and distract it in other conflicts that reduce the efficiency of the government’s confrontation with the Iranian-backed militia.

He added that the Iranian position on al-Qaeda leader Mohammed Salahaldin Zidan, also known as Said al-Adel, whom Iran is hosting on its soil, embodies one form of Iran’s responsibility for what is happening in Yemen as it cannot be said that Iran does not impose some control over the man who is responsible for al-Qaeda in Yemen and therefore the attacks carried out by the organization in the country, including in Abyan.

Hatimi pointed out that in contrast to the escalation by al-Qaeda against the legitimate government, we also find coordination between the terrorist organization and the Houthis, which was clearly demonstrated through various operations between the two organizations, including the release and exchange of prisoners.