By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2024-05-06

With al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) still posing a threat in Yemen despite its degraded capabilities, the United States remains committed to the fight against terrorism, as demonstrated by recent security successes.

AQAP has taken advantage of the chaos from Yemen's civil war to try to reestablish itself in the country.

The United States has succeeded in weakening the group and drying up its sources of funding, but AQAP continues to pose a threat to security and stability, political analyst Faisal Ahmed said.

This is especially important "in light of Iran's entry as a sponsor of al-Qaeda leaders," he told Al-Fassel, in reference to reports of Iran harboring al-Qaeda leaders on its soil.

"This has led to the Houthis supporting AQAP in Yemen and supplying them with drones that targeted government forces in areas under their control last year," he said.

Weakening al-Qaeda

Recent attacks in Abyan province provide an example of this persisting threat.

Militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) on April 29 as a military patrol was pursuing al-Qaeda elements in Mudiyah district of Abyan province, said Mohamed al-Naqib, spokesman for the Southern Transitional Council.

The attack killed six soldiers and wounded 11 people.

That followed a March 25 AQAP attack against the Southern Armed Forces during a patrol operation in Abyan, killing two and wounding five others.

It was the first AQAP attack since Saad al-Awlaki took over leadership of the group March 10 after the death of his predecessor, Khalid al-Batarfi.

Al-Batarfi was appointed AQAP's leader in February 2020, following the death of his predecessor, Qassim al-Rimi, in a US drone strike in Yemen -- a major blow to the group.

The United States is working to weaken AQAP in two ways, Ahmed said.

"The first is with military strikes via drones and air strikes."

The other is "through the Rewards for Justice program, which offers financial rewards to anyone who provides information about these leaders," he said, including al-Awlaki.

Washington is offering a reward of up to $6 million for information leading to his identification or location.