Battle of Dofas The Battle of Dofas was a battle during the 2011 Yemeni uprising between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and Islamist militant forces , possibly including elements of al - Qaeda , during which the militants destroyed an Army artillery battalion of the 39th Armored Brigade in the town of Dofas , which was being used as a main base for artillery support against the militant - held towns of Zinjibar and Jaʿār . Background . In May 2011 , about 300 Islamic militants attacked and captured the coastal city of Zinjibar ( population 20 , 000 ) . During the takeover of the town , the militants killed five policemen , including a high - ranking officer , and one civilian . Two more soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in Loder . Over the next few months the military made several attempts to retake the city , but they were all repelled leaving more than 600 dead on both sides . My mid - September 2011 , the military halted their attacks on Zinjibar and held positions on its outskirts . The battle . On 4 March , militants launched an attack against an Army artillery battalion on the outskirts of Zinjibar , in the small town of Dofas , overrunning it and killing 187 soldiers and wounding 135 . 32 Al - Qaeda fighters also died during the fighting . The militants attacked the Army base with booby - trapped vehicles and managed to capture armored vehicles , tanks , weapons and munitions . The military reported 55 soldiers were captured while the militant group claimed up to 73 were taken prisoner . The assault started with a diversionary attack on one end of the base , with the main militant force attacking the other end of the compound . Several car bombs were detonated in front of the gates , after which the attackers entered the base , capturing heavy weapons and turning them against the soldiers . The nearby 115th and 119th Brigades , which the artillery was supposed to support , were not able to assist the battalion due to them also being under attack . At one point they were hit by artillery from the battalion base after it had been overrun by the Islamists . Reinforcements from other nearby military bases came too late due to a sandstorm . In the town of Jaʿār , the militants paraded the captured soldiers . In the days following the attack , the military conducted air - strikes against militant positions around Zinjibar which they claimed killed 42 Al - Qaeda fighters . The " Ansar al - Sharia " group that took responsibility for the attack is believed to be just a re - branding of Al - Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to make it more appealing to the devout rural population . Three days after the attack , the group let a Red Cross team into Jaʿār to treat 12 wounded soldiers and demanded a prisoner exchange with the government . Aftermath . Attacks continued during the next weeks , including a suicide bombing on 13 March , near al - Bayda that killed four soldiers and left four other critically injured . After this attack militants posted a video in which they announced the capture of yet another soldier , bringing the total number of prisoners they hold to 74 . They demanded an agreement to free imprisoned insurgents in exchange for the soldiers . On 31 March , a large group of militants attacked an Army checkpoint in Lahij Governorate during the night , sparking a battle that left 20 soldiers and 4 insurgents dead . The attackers fled with heavy weapons and at least two tanks . Government forces later called in airstrikes that successfully destroyed one of the captured tanks , killing its three occupants . Another similar attack took place on 9 April , when a base near Lowdar was briefly overrun during a battle where locals had to join the military to help drive the militants out . There were at least 44 people killed , including six civilians , twenty four insurgents and fourteen soldiers .