Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): A Profile
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the umbrella organisation for al-Qaeda groups in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In support of al-Qaeda's doctrine, AQAP has conducted deadly jihadist assaults both locally and overseas. it is best known for bringing out the shooting incident at the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, as well as its engagement in terrorist plans on American soil, notably the "Christmas Day Bomber" in 2009 and the "Times Square Bomber" in 2010. Following the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in early 2012, AQAP capitalised on the country's broken political landscape by launching an insurgency in southern Yemen. Since Yemen's civil conflict began in 2015, AQAP has taken advantage of the political uncertainty by attempting to establish its own pseudo-state in the south.
The team is very skilled at handling media and disseminating messages. In Yemen, AQAP formed a spinoff group called Ansar al-Sharia in 2014 to rebrand the AQ identity and pay more attention to domestic matters. In 2015, AQAP considerably increased its wealth after seizing territory in Yemen's southeast, including the port of Mukalla, as well as port charges and central bank cash. The US reported in February 2020 that AQAP's most recent leader, Qasim al-Raymi, had been killed in Yemen. AQAP has yet to announce Raymi's successor or acknowledge his death as of mid-February 2020. AQAP is active across Yemen, mainly in the southern and central parts of the country. AQAP governs small pockets of territory in many of these regions, with sharia (Islamic law) courts and a strongly armed militia. AQAP tries to appeal to Yemenis by supplying their basic needs and blending in with the local community, including adhering to local governance institutions. According to a February 2017 assessment by the International Crisis Group, AQAP has strategically placed itself as "part of a larger Sunni front against Houthi expansion," giving them local sympathisers and more leeway to operate in Yemen. AQAP is thought to represent a substantial terrorist threat to the United States, in addition to holding territory in Yemen.
Former AQAP commander Nasir al-Wuhayshi declared the merger of al-Qaeda affiliates in Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the group's inaugural video in 2009. Wuhayshi claimed in the video that the group intends to avenge its opponents "with blood and destruction" in order to set up an Islamic Caliphate and impose Sharia rule. These goals were expounded upon in a 2012 AQAP manifesto. AQAP's main objectives, according to the letter, are to "[e]xpel Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula" and "establish the Islamic Caliphate and Shari'ah governance that the apostate governments have suspended." AQAP's beliefs and methods are in line with al-broader Qaeda's goals of achieving global Islamist dominance as a formal affiliate. AQAP is the al-Qaeda affiliate most ideologically similar to al-core, Qaeda's and it wants to carry out its Islamist purpose through violent jihad. Despite the fact that the group's headquarters are in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, members have endeavoured to carry out terrorist operations all over the world.
Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has undergone a transformation. Similarly, the counter-terrorism community's approach to it must change. The jihadi movement in the region has split, plagued by infighting, infiltrated by spies, devastated by drones, and exploited by Yemen's warring parties. The traditional titles of al-Qa'ida and the Islamic State have begun to lose their significance, necessitating a new classification of jihadi fighters to account for splinter organisations that have formed seemingly contradictory partnerships. AQAP has been damaged but not destroyed, and conditions are ripe for a comeback. A general ceasefire will not prevent, and may even encourage, a resurgence. The transnational threat is still present, with a maritime attack being one possibility.
Following the loss of its 'state' in 2016, AQAP was forced to resort to guerrilla warfare, which escalated in 2017 with over 270 attacks, all of which were limited and internal. The organisation fought against not only locally sourced soldiers recruited by the UAE across the south, but also informers within AQAP itself, as a surge in counterterrorism efforts took its toll. There has been a regular series of drone strikes, with over 120 in 2017. From mid-2018 through 2020, AQAP was engulfed in a full-fledged conflict with a new iteration of the so-called ISY in ‘al-Bayda', which appeared to sprout from the ashes of the original ISY in Yemen. Rather than inciting AQAP into open war, the new ISY was obsessively bent on provoking AQAP into outright war. Despite the fact that the original details regarding the rift came from anti-AQAP sources, it is evident that it is true and substantial because AQAP opted to confront it and justify its actions in an extraordinary 18-page statement, its largest ever. There are signs that the schism is caused by pro- and anti-Islah factions, Yemen's version of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is allied with the Hadi administration and has its own militias. Factionalism, rivalries, and rebellion are also mentioned in passing by AQAP's chief judge, Abu Bishr Muhammad Daramah, during a lecture series in 2021, although only in broad terms. It's tough to figure out who’s in this game. What is certain is that AQAP has splintered, and analysts' approaches and methods have changed.
The AQAP is evolving. AQAP has splintered, blended, and (re)aligned as a result of counterterrorism pressures and the shifting military situation, making the group more difficult to define. The long-term goals of AQAP haven't yet altered, but they now appear to be broader. These include the formation of a borderless Islamic country (umma) governed by sharia law; justice for Palestine and other persecuted Muslims from France to Myanmar; and an end to all intervention in Muslim matters by 'infidels' and its claimed agent Arab states, not simply the US military presence.
Notes -
1. al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula | History & Facts | Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda-in-the-Arabian-Peninsula
2. FSI | CISAC | MAPPINGMILITANTS CISAC - MMP: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula
3. https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/aqap-al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula: https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/aqap-al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula
4. Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11483095
5. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) | Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula-aqap
6. al-qaeda-in-the-arabian-peninsula-2013-1-11-v1.pdf: https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/al-qaeda-in-the-arabian-peninsula-2013-1-11-v1.pdf
7. AQAP (al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula): news, videos, reports and analysis - France 24: https://www.france24.com/en/tag/aqap-al-qaeda-in-the-arabian-peninsula/
8. Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula: Latest News & Videos, Photos about al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula | The Economic Times - Page 1: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/al-qaeda-in-the-arabian-peninsula
Pic Courtesy-AQAP website
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
