Death of Senior Commander Unlikely to Have Effect on AQAP Progress

A U.S. drone strike has reportedly killed Jalal Baleedi, an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) senior field commander also known as Hamza al-Zinjibari. Baleedi and 11 other AQAP followers were killed during the February 4, 2016 strike in Abayan Province according to residents.

Baleedi served as a regional field commander for the provinces of Abyan, Shabwa, Hadramout, al-Bayda, and Lahj. Baleedi is best known for an operation that ambushed and executed 14 Yemeni soldiers in the city of Seiyoun on August 8^th 2014.

There have been rumors that Baleedi defected to the Islamic State (IS), but this has not been substantiated.

In the past year the U.S. has successfully targeted AQAP leadership including:

• In April of 2015, Ibrahim al-Rubaish, AQAP’s top ideological leader and mufti, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.
• That same month, a U.S. drone strike killed Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a senior AQAP leader and AQ’s global deputy manager.
• In June 2015, the U.S. was able to target and kill AQAP leader, Nasir al Wuhayshi, also served as AQ’s second in command.

Baleedi was born and raised in the Abyan province in Yemen, where he served as imam for a mosque in Zinjibar before joining AQAP in 2011. Several members of Baleedi’s family are members of Al Qaeda, and it is believed these ties drew him into the organization.

One of Baleedi’s strengths has been his ability to persuade others regarding Al Qaeda’s positions. This is in part because Baleedi is well-known around Yemen, including in his time serving as an imam. He appeared regularly in recruitment and field operation videos, and he also sat down for interviews with Yemeni reporters.

The U.S. State Department placed a $5 million reward on Baleedi after he was suspected of planning attacks on Western diplomats in 2013.

AQAP has recently taken considerable territory around Yemen. They now control the commercial city of Azzan, the port city of Mukalla, and are continuing to move into Aden, a major port city and new home of the Yemeni government. Baleedi, serving as field commander to the regions where these cities are, is likely to have been involved with planning and execution of these operations.

Baleedi’s death, if confirmed, will affect AQAP in the region, but although the death of a senior field commander may slow their push west, it likely won’t be enough to stop their recent successes.

With the Saudi coalition and Yemeni security forces engaged primarily in fighting the Iranian backed Houthis, it’s unclear if there is a force willing or able to capitalize on Baleedi’s death with movement on the ground. As a result the U.S.’s ability to kill high-level AQAP leadership continues to have a limited strategic impact on AQAP’s efforts.