In Brief

• Areas  of Operation: Southern Yemeni provinces, primarily Aden and Abyan • Goal: To establish a state based on strict adherence to Sharia law and to expel all Western influence from Yemen and the greater Middle East • Affiliated Groups: Yemeni Islamic Jihad, Muhammad's Army, Islamic Deterrence Forces, al-Qaida • Leader: founded by Abu al-Hassan circa 1992, but al-Hassan executed in 1999; currently Khaled Abdennabi, believed killed in 2003 fight with Yemeni forces, but appeared as recently as February 2004 • Activities: USS Cole bombing, Oct. 12, 2000; kidnapping of 16 tourists on Dec. 28, 1998; other bombings and kidnappings

The Islamic Army of Aden (IAA) – also known as the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan – is a group of Muslim extremists that wish to establish an Islamist government in Yemen that adheres strictly to Sharia Law. It also seeks to remove all Western interests and influence from Yemen and the greater Middle East. Although the Yemeni government has sought to crush the group and has claimed that it is no longer capable of carrying out its operations, Western intelligence services believe it is still planning operations to advance its political and religious agenda.

The IAA is most famous for its role in the Oct. 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in Aden Harbor. A dinghy packed with explosives ran into the side of the destroyer while it was refueling, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39 others. Intelligence services suspect the attack was sponsored by and conducted in coordination with al-Qaida. Abd al-Rashim al-Nashiri, chief of Qaida operations in the Persian Gulf, is believed to have masterminded the attack.  Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harthi, al-Qaida’s chief operative in Yemen, is also thought to have been involved. Authorities believe Al-Harthi was killed in November 2002, when an American unmanned aerial vehicle fired a hellfire missile at a car in the middle of the Yemeni desert.

Authorities suspect the IAA receives financial and material support from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in exchange for public support of al-Qaida’s agenda. The IAA was designated a terrorist financier on Sept. 24, 2001, when U.S. President George W. Bush launched the financial component of the so-called war on terrorism. On April 19, 2002, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the IAA’s chief legal officer, citing IAA involvement in the bombing of the USS Cole, the 1998 kidnapping of foreign tourists, and support for Osama bin Laden.

The IAA has claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on American and British interests in Yemen, and has threatened Western doctors and tourists in the country. Although Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih declared his support for the war on terrorism, this support has not been completely forthcoming. Ten suspects from the USS Cole bombing escaped from a Yemeni prison in April 2003, and Yemen arrested Khaled Abd-al-Nabi, the current leader of the IAA, only to pardon and release him. This was after the government had claimed al-Nabi was killed in an October 2003 battle with security forces. Since Yemen has been more active against members of al-Qaida, however, the United States continues to provide training and equipment to Yemen’s Coast Guard, border patrol and military forces.

The IAA was founded by al-Hassan and other Yemenis upon returning from the guerilla war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. While fighting as mujahideen, these men adopted the puritanical views of Salafism, a sect of Sunni Islam closely related to Wahabbism and known for its extremist tendencies. Initially, the IAA worked to shut down American bases in Yemen used to support the peacekeeping mission in Somalia during the 1990s.

The IAA and other Islamist groups supported the Yemeni government when socialists in the southern provinces attempted to secede in 1994. However, around 1996, the IAA turned against the government and all Western interests when the Salih government failed to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia law.

On May 29, 1998, the IAA made its first public statements about its intentions to overthrow the government, institute the Sharia code, and expel all Western interests from Yemen. The group also declared its support for the attacks against the American embassies in Africa. It later endorsed bin Laden after the U.S. retaliatory strikes on his training camps in Afghanistan.

Yemeni authorities quietly tried to incorporate the IAA and its founder Abu al-Hassan into the political system, but on Nov. 8, 1998, al-Hassan called on the president, the Consultative Council, and the parliament to resign and face criminal charges under Islamic law. The government then sought to arrest al-Hassan.

On Dec. 28, 1998, IAA gunmen kidnapped 16 Western tourists and demanded the release of several of their compatriots, who had been arrested a week earlier. Although the British government strongly urged Yemen not to use force against the kidnappers, Yemeni security forces stormed the IAA hideout where the hostages were being held. Four hostages died in the raid. Al-Hassan was executed in 1999 for his role in the kidnapping.

In the aftermath of the USS Cole bombing and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Yemeni government has cracked down on terrorists more heavily. These efforts have been largely successful, but many Western governments believe that the IAA and its affiliates are seeking to regain a foothold in Yemen, but so little seems to be known about the IAA that it is unclear whether they ever lost it.

Sources

 “‘Militants Killed’ by Yemeni Forces,” BBC News U.K. Edition, June 25, 2003.

“Abu al-Hassan and the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan,” Yemen Gateway, April 29, 2001.

“Aden-Abyan Islamic Army Does Not Exist – Abdennabi,” Agence France Presse, Arab News, Feb. 8, 2004.

“Designation of 10 Terrorist Financiers Fact Sheet,” Press Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury, April 19, 2002.

“Islamic Army of Aden,” Australian National Security, Attorney General’s Department, Sept. 4, 2004.

“Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003,” U.S. Department of State, April 2004.

“Terrorist Group Profile: Aden Abyan Islamic Army,” MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, Oct. 25, 2004.

“UK Priorities: Terrorism and Security: Islamic Army of Aden,” United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“Who’s Who in al-Qaida,” BBC News, Feb. 19, 2003.

“Yemen and the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army,” Middle East Report Online, Oct. 18, 2000.