Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen)

جماعة أنصار الشريعة
(Jamāʿat Anṣār aš-Šharīʿa)
Partisans of Shari'a
LeadersNasir al-Wuhayshi † (2009–2015)[1]
Qasim al-Raymi † (2015–20)[2]
Khalid Batarfi # (2020–2024)[3]
Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki (2024–present)[3]
Dates of operation2011–present
HeadquartersMukalla, Hadhramaut (2015–2016)
Active regionsYemen; Sana'a and the Abyan region: Zinjibar, Ja'ar, Shuqrah and surrounding areas.
Ideology
Size1,000–3000+ (2013)[21][22]
Part of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Allies
OpponentsState opponents

Non-state opponents

Battles and warsYemeni insurgency

Yemeni Civil War

Designated as a terrorist group by United Arab Emirates[25]

Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a (Arabic: جماعة أنصار الشريعة; Jamāʿat Anṣār aš-Šharīʿa), also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, is a Yemen-based umbrella organization which includes units from several militant Islamic groups of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).[26] In 2011, AQAP created Ansar Al-Sharia as a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West.[27] In the view of the International Crisis Group, AQAP is "an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population" and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP's international agenda.[27]

After the Battle of Zinjibar (May–September 2011), the faction had taken control of some cities in southern Yemen in which it has instated emirates. Ansar ash-Shari'a have also claimed responsibility for the 2012 Sana'a bombing and the 2013 Sana'a attack.[28] As of early 2017, AQAP and AAS were currently in a struggle for territorial control with the Houthi/Saleh forces in the governorates of al-Bayda, Shebwa, Marib, Jawf and Taiz.[27]

On 4 October 2012, the United States Department of State amended its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations to designate Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen as an alias for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, rather than listing it as a separate organisation. On the same day, the group was also listed by the United Nations 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.[29] New Zealand[30] also listed it as a terror group.[31]

In February 2015, it was reported that some members had split from the group and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[32]

In January 2020, the group's leader Qasim al-Raymi, who also served as the leader of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a U.S. airstrike.[33]

References

  1. ^ Dana Ford (15 June 2015). "Top al Qaeda leader reported killed in Yemen". CNN. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Al Qaeda in Yemen says leader killed in U.S. bombing". Reuters. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b "AQAP confirms death of leader, appoints successor: SITE". Yahoo News.
  4. ^ Radman, al-Sabri, Hussam, Assim (28 February 2023). "Leadership from Iran: How Al-Qaeda in Yemen Fell Under the Sway of Saif al-Adel". Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 30 August 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Ahmed, Abu Bakr (13 October 2023). "Al-Qaeda's Shifting Alliances During the Yemen War". Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025.
  6. ^ Haynes, Jeffrey (2021). Handbook on Religion and International Relations. Northampton, Massachusetts 01060, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 124, 125. ISBN 978-1-83910-023-9. LCCN 2021938678.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. ^ al-Sabri, Assim (31 May 2024). "Batarfi's Death and Al-Qaeda in Yemen's New Emir: What Comes Next?". Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024.
  8. ^ Carboni, Sulz, Andrea, Matthias (14 December 2020). "The Wartime Transformation of AQAP in Yemen". ACLED. Archived from the original on 29 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Terrill, W. Andrew (June 2013). "The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula". Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College: 22, 23. ISBN 1-58487-576-3 – via JSTOR.
  10. ^ Kendall, Elisabeth (July 2018). "Contemporaey Jihadi Militancy in Yemen" (PDF). Middle East Institute. pp. 1–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2025.
  11. ^ Carboni, Sulz, Andrea, Matthias (14 December 2020). "The Wartime Transformation of AQAP in Yemen". ACLED. Archived from the original on 29 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Cook, Joana (2019). ""Their Fate is Tied to Ours": Assessing AQAP Governance and Implications for Security in Yemen" (PDF). icsr. pp. 3–6, 12–15, 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2021.
  13. ^ Kendall, Elisabeth (14 February 2020). "Death of AQAP Leader Shows the Group's Fragmentation—and Durability". WINEP. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021.
  14. ^ Terrill, W. Andrew (June 2013). "The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula". Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College: 22, 23. ISBN 1-58487-576-3 – via JSTOR.
  15. ^ "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)". Council on Foreign Relations. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  17. ^ Burnett, M. Troy (2020). "Yemen". Nationalism Today. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 843, 844. ISBN 9781440849992.
  18. ^ "S/2018/705 – E". undocs.org. pp. 9, 10. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Conversation With Terror". Time. January 1999. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America' | World news | Observer.co.uk". TheGuardian.com. 26 August 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Al-Qaeda map: Isis, Boko Haram and other affiliates' strongholds across Africa and Asia". 12 June 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  22. ^ Eland, Ivan (2013). The Failure of Counterinsurgency: Why Hearts and Minds Are Seldom Won. Abc-Clio. ISBN 9781440830105. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Yemen bomb: Suicide bomber hit's military parade in Sanaa". GlobalPost. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  24. ^ "AFP: Yémen: l'armée, aidée par les Etats-Unis, progresse face à Al-Qaïda". Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  25. ^ "UAE publishes list of terrorist organisations". Archived from the original on 17 November 2014.
  26. ^ Sudarsan Raghavan (22 February 2011). "Militants linked to al-Qaeda emboldened in Yemen". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  27. ^ a b c International Crisis Group (2 February 2017). Yemen's al-Qaeda: Expanding the Base. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  28. ^ "Al-Qaeda claims deadly Yemen suicide blast – Middle East". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  29. ^ "Terrorist Designations of Ansar al-Sharia as an Alias for Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula". Department of State. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  30. ^ "Terrorism – New Zealand travel advice". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  31. ^ "Designated Entities 26-11-2014" (PDF).
  32. ^ "The War on ISIS". 26 February 2015.
  33. ^ "White House says U.S. Killed Qassim al-Rimi, leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen". NBC News. 7 February 2020.
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