By Al-Fassel | 2024-12-26

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has betrayed its core beliefs by partnering with its longtime nemesis, Yemen's Houthis, and exposing its willingness to sacrifice doctrine for tactical advantage, analysts say.

This alliance of convenience makes a mockery of the years of sectarian warfare waged between the two groups.

The dramatic pivot is stark, and shatters AQAP's carefully cultivated image of "religious purity."

AQAP devoted 75% of its operations to attacking the Houthis in early 2017, according to Middle East Institute expert Elisabeth Kendall.

By year's end, that plummeted to 49%, with the extremist group directing 51% of its operations against Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces.

The alliance between the Houthis and al-Qaeda emerged publicly in May 2023 when AQAP deployed Houthi-provided drones against STC targets.

As AQAP has limited technical capability to develop drones, "external support for sourcing these weapons was probably crucial," Rueben Dass of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research wrote in Lawfare.

The Houthis have provided al-Qaeda with logistics support, including thermal rockets, drones, reconnaissance equipment, according to a recent United Nations panel of experts report.

The death of senior Houthi commander Abu Qusai Assanaani in 2022, while fighting alongside AQAP forces, cemented evidence of the partnership.

Growing collusion

Assanaani had been providing al-Qaeda fighters "food supplies, weapons and ammunition" when he was killed in a known al-Qaeda stronghold, Col. Ali Al-Badah, chief of operations command in a pro-STC region, told the Telegraph.

The former foes now openly operate adjacent checkpoints on the Shabwa-Al-Bayda road, flying their respective flags.

"They live in harmony," one local resident told the Telegraph. "They never clash and each group raises its banner, which clearly indicates a growing cooperation."

AQAP has shown it is willing to adapt to changing environments by remaining fluid, said Jamestown Foundation fellow Michael Horton.

This is evidenced by its willingness to de-prioritize core aspects of its militant ideology "in favor of more expedient and pragmatic strategies," he said.

While uniting against a common enemy -- the STC and Yemeni government forces -- drives this unlikely alliance, al-Qaeda risks alienating its supporters.

AQAP may leverage Houthi support to escalate attacks on international shipping routes or launch cross-border operations, Yemen analyst Ayad Qassem said.

This marriage of convenience exposes AQAP's religious rhetoric as hollow, proving the group will readily abandon its proclaimed values when it suits its own interests.