SANAA, June 29 (Xinhua) — A spectacular suspected Al-Qaeda attack on the highly-guarded intelligence headquarters in south Yemen raises questions on whether this reflects a deterioration in Yemeni security capability.
Some anti-terrorism analysts, however, said Yemen still held the necessary security capabilities to confront terrorist threats, but challenges also existed as the government’s year long absence in the country’s remote and unruly regions was exploited by Al-Qaeda in extending its horizontal influence and recruitment there.
On June 19, a group of gunmen stormed the intelligence headquarters in the southern port city of Aden, which the Yemeni government blamed on Al-Qaeda.
Suspected Al-Qaeda attack
“The attack that took place on Saturday, June 19, left seven security guards, three women and a child dead, which bears the characteristics of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group,” the Yemeni supreme security committee said in a statement published by the country’s Defense Ministry’s website.
The gunmen, wearing security uniforms and armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, drove speedily with two cars towards the main gate of the headquarters and broke into it, according to the Defense Ministry.
It is regarded as one of the boldest attacks, by which Al-Qaeda, according to analysts, sought to discredit the capabilities of security apparatus after the group received painful blows in recent weeks.
“This tragic incident underlines the ability of Al-Qaeda to penetrate one of the most highly-guarded security buildings,” said analyst Mohammed Saif Haidar of the Sana’a-based Sheba Center for Strategic Studies.
“And this does not necessarily reflect a setback for the Yemeni security capabilities as security services carried out a large number of successful anti-terror operations during the past seven months and tightened the noose on Al-Qaeda militants and inflicted heavy losses against them,” he said.
Saudi, U.S. contribute Yemeni security
Yemen’s Western allies, neighboring top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and the United States paid more attention to Yemeni security affairs after the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda boasted that it was behind a failed attempt to destroy a U.S. passenger plane bound for Detroit in December, 2009.
“Acting on the advice of Washington and Riyadh, Sana’a is concentrating to cement a ceasefire deal with Shiite rebels in the north and is engaging in peace talks with secessionists in the south in order to focus on its war with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),” said colonel Mohammed Rajih, an analyst of the security affairs at the Interior Ministry.
“Such a strategy, of course, is yielding good results and allowing the security services to enjoy a high level of readiness and preparedness,” said Rajih.
However, Haidar added, “the attack targeting the intelligence headquarters in Aden indicates that the terrorist network does not concentrate its attacks on Western interests only, it also pays attention to local government targets such as security and the vital oil sector.”
On June 13, the Yemeni ruling party’s website reported that Al-Qaeda had killed 37 senior army and security officers during the past three years.
Government absence intensifies Al-Qaeda operatives
Yemen reels under a high unemployment rate, which effects 34 percent of the youth in the country. Poverty afflicts 40 percent of the population.
“Yemen’s poor economy and uncontrollable armed tribes helped generate Al-Qaeda operatives,” Abdulelah Haidar Shaiee, a Yemeni analyst on security affairs and Islamic groups, said.
According to local media, in remote areas across the impoverished Arab country, Al-Qaeda operatives could freely walk and use public phones and internet cafes to plan a series of strikes against western and local targets.
As a result, one of the main challenges that Yemeni security services now faces is to change tactics to match an increasingly dangerous atmosphere in its remote and unruly regions.
“Joint Yemeni-American anti-terror operations show that Yemen’s central government is largely absent in the remote areas of Marib, Abyan, Shabwa and Lahij governorates,” said Shaiee.
“According to official documents,” Shaiee said, “the army shelled these governorates’ rebellious areas from the air but did not venture a ground invasion due to fear of the local resistance.”
“Residents in these regions do not recognize the legitimacy of the government, and reject its military presence there due to its long absence and lack of security, development and rule of law,” Shaiee explained.
The year-long government’s absence there was exploited by Al-Qaeda in helping extend its horizontal influence and recruitment over these areas.
Shaiee pointed out that the absence of government authorities also “contributes to undermine the presence of the security apparatus there which paved the way for the growth of the extremist groups.”