Al - Qaeda insurgency in Yemen The Al - Qaeda insurgency in Yemen refers to armed conflict between the Yemeni government with United States assistance , and al - Qaeda affiliated cells . The ongoing strife is often categorized as a sub - conflict in the greater Global War on Terror . Government crackdown against al - Qaeda cells began in 2001 , and reached an escalation point on January 14 , 2010 when Yemen declared open war on al Qaeda . In addition to battling al Qaeda across several provinces , Yemen is also contending with Shi ' ite insurgency in the north and militant separatists in the south . Fighting with al - Qaeda escalated during the course of the 2011 Yemeni revolution , with Jihadists seizing most of the Abyan Governorate and declaring it an Emirate at the close of March . A second wave of violence occurred throughout early 2012 , with militants claiming territory across the southwest amid heavy combat with government forces . In May 2013 , attackers blew up Yemen ' s main oil pipeline , halting the flow of crude oil . Background . Yemen has come under pressure to act against al Qaeda since attacks on its two main allies , Saudi Arabia and the United States , by militants coming from Yemeni soil . Previous attacks linked to al Qaeda in Yemen include the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole , the 2008 American Embassy attack , and several attacks against foreign tourists . Yemen had already intensified operations against al Qaeda in late 2009 when a Yemen - based wing of the group claimed to be behind the failed December 25 , 2009 attempt to blow up a Detroit - bound U . S . airliner , itself a retaliation against an attack against a training camp in Abyan on 17 December , killing many civilians . News reports have indicated substantial American involvement in Yemeni operations against al Qaeda since late 2009 , including training , intelligence sharing , " several dozen troops " from the Joint Special Operations Command , and direct involvement . Timeline . Government crackdown ( 2009 – 2010 ) . First Battle of Lawdar . Between 19 and 25 August 2010 the Yemeni army launched a major offensive in the city of Lawdar controlled by Al - Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . Several activists including local leaders of Al Qaeda were killed during the clashes . On August 25 Yemeni authorities claimed to regain control of the southern town of Lawdar , a great part of which was in the grip of suspected Al - Qaeda militants during days of clashes with the army . Further attacks in Zinjibar . On August 25 , gunmen on motorcycles attacked a military patrol in Yemen ' s restive south on Wednesday , killing four soldiers and wounding one , a security official said . The official said an early investigation indicated the attackers were members of al - Qaida , which lately appears to have stepped up high - profile attacks in the south of this impoverished country . He did not provide details . The attack occurred in the Abyan provincial capital of Zinjibar and brought to 53 the number of soldiers killed by al - Qaida since May , the official said . He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media . Battle of Huta . On 20 September a number of militants attacked and took control of the village of Hota in the southern parts of the country , prompting the Army to counter - attack . This happened as the top US counter - terrorism advisor John Brennan was on a visit to Yemen and discussed cooperation in the fight against Al - Qaeda , according to the White House . Brennan met President Ali Abdullah Saleh and delivered a letter from Obama expressing US support for a " unified , stable , democratic and prosperous Yemen , " National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement . " President Saleh and Mr Brennan discussed cooperation against the continuing threat of Al - Qaeda , and Mr Brennan conveyed the United States ' condolences to the Yemeni people for the loss of Yemeni security officers and citizens killed in recent Al - Qaeda attacks , " Hammer said . Al - Qaeda militants besieged in the southern Yemeni town of Hota were reportedly using residents as human shields in the second major clash between them and troops in recent weeks . According to officials " al - Qaeda elements are preventing residents from leaving Hota , to use them as human shields " . The Yemeni Army destroyed five homes suspected of hiding al - Qaeda militants on September 22 as the siege of a southern village entered its second day , but officials denied reports that US - born radical cleric Anwar al - Awlaki was among those surrounded , the AP reported . Earlier the same day an unofficial website run by government opponents had reported that al - Awlaki had been surrounded . However , the chief municipal official in the area , Atiq Baouda , and the security officials denied that he was in the area under siege . The Yemeni army refused to comment on the operation . A Yemeni news website later reported that state security forces had surrounded a group of suspected al Qaeda leaders in a south Yemen village , possibly including American - born radical cleric Anwar al - Awlaki . Al - Qaida militants fought off repeated attempts by government troops backed by tanks and heavy artillery to retake the besieged town . A military official said the militants were using sniper fire and land mines to keep the soldiers at bay , forcing the army to adjust its tactics . In one attempt , Yemeni troops tried to rappel from helicopters into the village but met with fierce resistance , two Hawta residents said , speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared for their security . They said four soldiers were wounded and were rushed away in ambulances . In another attempt , six soldiers were wounded by militant sniper fire as they tried to mount barricades put up by the militants on the town ' s outskirts , local officials said . Medical officials confirmed that nine soldiers are being treated at the provincial hospital . On 24 September the government siege of al - Hota ended after security forces took control of the town in the southern province of Shabwa . Revolution ( 2011 – 2012 ) . Battle of Zinjibar . On 27 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 seven soldiers , including a colonel , and one civilian . In the months that followed the militants entrenched themselves within the city as the Army resorted to aerial bombardment and artillery attacks . The insurgents responded with daily bombings and suicide attacks . By the end of the year almost 800 had been killed in total , with casualties almost equal on both sides . On 4 March , militants launched an attack against an Army artillery battalion on the outskirts of Zinjibar , 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 in fact 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 . Reinforcements from other nearby military bases came too late due to a sandstorm . It was also revealed that previous military claims of taking back the city were untrue , with the militants still controlling most of Zinjibar and a few surrounding towns , namely Jaar where they 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 Jaar to treat 12 wounded soldiers and demanded a prisoner exchange with the government . After the beginning of fighting around the city of Lawdar in early April , violence escalated around Zinjibar as well . At least six militants and two Yemeni soldiers were killed in a shootout on 19 April . A major army operation followed in the end of the same month , with hundreds of troops advancing against militant positions in Abyan province . Troops managed to reach the center of Zinjibar after several days of fighting , including an intense six - hour battle towards the end on April 25 . Three militants had been killed on the 23rd , and at least 46 died in the province during the next two days , including 15 near Lowdar . Government casualties were initially not released , while meanwhile leaflets and a video released by Ansar al - Sharia contained threats to kill the 85 captive Yemeni soldiers unless the government withdraws its forces . Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al - Sharia ( " Partisans of Islamic Law " ) . Post - Saleh ( 2012 – ) . On 14 January 2012 , hundreds of people displaced by months of fighting were allowed to return to their homes in Zinjibar after a temporary deal was reached between insurgent forces and the army units . Locals described " widespread " destruction across the city and several mine fields that the army warned them about . According to reports , the militants held the western part of the city , while the east was controlled by government forces . Thousands of people previously held protests demanding an end to the fighting that has forced them to flee their homes in the south , holding several 50 km ( 31 mile ) marches from the port city of Aden to Zinjibar . Estimates of the number of people displaced from the government operations against the militants had risen to nearly 97 , 000 . 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 2012 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 . Second Battle of Lowdar . On 9 April a large group of militants attacked an Army base near the city of Lawdar and briefly overran it during a battle where locals had to join the military to help drive them out . There were at least 94 people killed in that initial attack , including six civilians , seventy - four insurgents and fourteen soldiers . This was the third such assault in recent weeks , after two similar attacks in March left at least 130 soldiers dead and more than 70 as prisoners of al - Qaeda affiliated groups . Government sources raised the casualty figures yet again on 10 April , bringing the total to 124 dead in two days - including 102 militants , 14 soldiers and at least eight civilians . Local tribal sources confirmed the toll , adding that among the dead insurgents there were at least 12 Somalis and a number of Saudis . Reinforcements were being brought into the area as Air Force planes began bombing insurgent positions near Lowdar and on the main road towards Zinjibar . At least 51 deaths were recorded on 11 April , most of them al - Qaeda - linked fighters . These included 42 militants , six soldiers and three local militia members . The government reportedly sent an elite anti - terrorism squad to help in defeating the militants . As of 13 April the battle was still raging around the city with clashes spreading to nearby Mudiyah , the only other town apart from Lowdar that insurgents do not control in the province . Mortar shelling was reported for the second consecutive day by local citizens , with at least 17 civilians injured and the main power station reportedly on fire . After the government sent an additional 200 members of an anti - terrorism unit militants pulled out of the city and back towards the nearby villages of Um Sorra and Wadhia , leaving a few snipers behind . The official death toll on 13 April stood at 37 , including 31 militants , five members of a tribal civilian militia and a child that was shot by an unidentified sniper . Authorities reported the city to be relatively quiet on Saturday , with only sporadic gunfire breaking the silence . On Sunday a suicide bomber killed two tribal militia members at a checkpoint in al - Hodn , just outside Lawdar . Six militants and two locals were killed in other clashes around the town , specifically in an area called al - Minyasa . After a few quiet days , fighting resumed on 18 April , with militants shelling the city and government forces ordering air strikes in retaliation . Two children were killed and at least five houses were destroyed during the mortar attacks , while six militants were confirmed dead in the airstrikes . The previous day a suicide car bomber had attacked an army checkpoint on the outskirts of Lowdar , killing five Yemeni soldiers and injuring four more . On 19 April at least seven militants were killed after clashes with an Army unit based in Lowdar . Two days later Yemeni airplanes bombed militant positions in nearby Jebel Yasuf and al - Minyasa , killing at least 13 fighters . On April 25 at least six militants were killed after their convoy was ambushed by local militia members . Fifteen insurgents were killed two days earlier after a similar incident . Fighting around the city on April 30 killed 12 militants , a soldier and a tribal militia member . Meanwhile insurgents continued their attacks across the country , as an army checkpoint near Aden was assaulted by a group of armed men in pickup trucks . In the ensuing gunbattle at least eight attackers and four Yemeni soldier were killed , while three al - Qaida fighters and one security force member were wounded . Additionally , militants kidnapped a senior intelligence officer and two soldiers in the town of Radda south of the capital Sana ' a . The town was briefly lost to the terrorist groups in January , before being taken back by government forces a few weeks later . By May 16 , Yemen troops backed pro - government tribal militias captured the Yasouf mountain , a strategic force above the city , after heavy fighting . After doing so , it was announced that the militants had fled Lawder . Sanaa bombing . On 21 May 2012 , a soldier detonated a suicide bomb in a crowd of military personnel at the beginning of a rehearsal for a Unity Day parade in Sana ' a . The bomb killed 96 and wounded more than 200 , making it the deadliest attack in Yemen ' s history . Al - Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility and described it as " revenge " for the continued offensive by the Central Security Organization . U . S . drone and cruise missile attacks . The U . S . first said it used targeted killing in November 2002 , with the cooperation and approval of the government of Yemen . A CIA - controlled high - altitude Predator drone fired a Hellfire missile at an SUV in the Yemeni desert containing Qaed Salim Sinan al - Harethi , a Yemeni suspected senior al - Qaeda lieutenant believed to have been the mastermind behind the October 2000 USS " Cole " bombing that killed 17 Americans . He was on a list of targets whose capture or death had been called for by President George W . Bush . In addition to al - Harethi , five other occupants of the SUV were killed , all of whom were suspected al - Qaeda terrorists , and one of whom ( Kamal Derwish ) was an American . In May 2010 , an errant U . S . drone attack targeting al Qaeda terrorists in Wadi Abida , Yemen killed five people , among them Jaber al - Shabwani , deputy governor of Maarib province who was mediating between the government and the militants . The killing so angered Shabwani ' s tribesmen that in the subsequent weeks they fought heavily with government security forces , twice attacking a major oil pipeline in Maarib . According to " The Times " , in 2010 the US , in cooperation with Yemeni officials , launched four cruise missiles at suspected terrorist targets in Yemen . According to the " Times " , Yemen asked the US to suspend the strikes after one of the missiles killed a pro - Yemeni tribal leader , Sheikh Jaber al - Shabwani , the deputy governor of Marib province , resulting in his tribe turning against the Yemeni government . The " Times " also stated that US special forces troops were on the ground in Yemen helping to hunt al - Qaeda operatives . On 3 June 2011 American manned jets or drones attacked and killed Abu Ali al - Harithi , a midlevel al - Qaeda operative , and several other militant suspects in a strike in southern Yemen . Four civilians were also reportedly killed in the strike . The strike was reportedly coordinated by American special forces and CIA operatives based in Sana . According to the Associated Press , in 2011 the US government began building an airbase near or in Yemen from which the CIA and US military plans to operate drones over Yemen . September 30 , 2011 : Anwar al - Awlaki was targeted by a US drone strike which successfully killed him , Samir Khan and a few other militants while they were all in the same car driving to get breakfast . Suspected U . S . drone strikes killed at least 9 militants on 16 and 18 April 2012 in some of the first such operations in months . The two strikes were in Shabwa and Abyan provinces , which are partially or mostly under the control of the insurgents .