Al-Qaeda Claims Attack at Yemen Airport as Three-Sided Civil War Continues

July 6^th, 2016, 15-20 militants attacked a base near Aden Airport in Yemen after detonating two car bombs which killed eight soldiers. The jihadists initially set off the first explosive and then rammed a vehicle through the entrance, detonating a bomb inside; the Islamists proceeded to take control of the base.

Within hours, Yemeni forces, aided by troops from the Saudi-backed coalitions retook control of the base. The troops recaptured the base after exchanging RPG fire with the militants through the early hours of the morning. Hours after the battle, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack.

The city of Aden was retaken from Iranian-backed Houthi Shi’ite rebels almost a year ago but the government has struggled to secure the city. In May, suicide bombers struck an army recruiting station, killing 45 men waiting to enlist. In December of last year, Aden’s governor and five of his bodyguards were killed when an IS car bomb exploded, hitting his passing convoy.

Aden has been the provisional capital of Yemen since Sana’a, the official capital, was taken by the Houthi Rebels in January of last year; insurgents stormed the presidential palace, placing President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi under house arrest. President Hadi later escaped to Aden where he set up a provisional capital. When Houthi forces took Aden in March of that year, Hadi fled to Riyadh, where he enlisted the help of Saudi Arabia, which quickly sent airstrikes and eventualy ground troops to combat the Houthi forces.

Saudi Arabia’s willingness to aid the Hadi government should not come as a surprise given that having an Iranian proxy next door would directly threaten Saudi influence in the Gulf. But the Houthi Rebels’ attempts to control Yemen are indicative of how Iran seeks to assert itself as a regional hegemon using fellow Shia groups as proxies. Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve the same status among Sunni countries and has found itself fighting a series of proxy wars in Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen for regional hegemony.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has taken advantage of the volatile situation, seizing substantial territory in the middle of the country. AQAP previously controlled Mullakah, a major port, before being outsted by a coalition of Yemeni, Saudi, and Emirati troops in April. AQAP, an enemy of the Islamic State, has sought to gain a foothold in Yemen and has been actively combatting the Yemeni Government and the Houthi Rebels. AQAP seeks to set up an Islamic Caliphate and enforce sharia law.

While not a large presence, IS too, has carried out numerous attacks including a March 2016 suicide attack at a government checkpoint.

This attack by AQAP is emblematic of the three-sided war (Yemeni Government, Houthi Rebels, Sunni Jihadist) that has emerged in Yemen. On a larger scale, it is reflective of the greater Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and Iran fighting for influence in the region and Al-Qaeda and Islamic State attempting to control chaotic regions and establish their own rule.