By William Tucker
A suicide bomber dressed as a Yemeni soldier detonated his device in the midst of a paramilitary division that was rehearsing for tomorrow’s National Unity Day parade. The ministry of defense stated that over 90 were killed and a further 220 were wounded in the blast. There are reports that two other would be bombers were stopped before they could detonate their devices, but further information is not yet available. Shortly after the attack, an al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that the bomber was a soldier who had been recruited for the task. Again, there hasn’t been anything released to confirm that claim, but it does make sense for AQAP to strike out at the Yemeni military while they were in a vulnerable position.
The Central Security Organization, a paramilitary force commanded by Yahya Saleh, a nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was the unit that took the brunt of the attack. CSO forces had been used extensively by the previous president in many illicit ways making today’s attack symbolic, not just as an attack on the military, but also because many in Southern Yemen despise the CSO. The former president used forces that were commanded by family members to deal with uprisings from southern separatists and Houthis in the north of the country. An attack on this particular unit so close to National Unity Day is certainly provocative.
Naturally, the Yemeni military offensive in Abyan, Marib, and Shabwa provinces, coupled with the U.S. drone campaign, has put immense pressure on AQAP after nearly a year of territorial gains. In the last few weeks the causalities among the Yemeni military and AQAP have been quite high – numbering in the hundreds by some counts – suggesting that AQAP may be looking for a way to relieve some of the pressure brought on by the military offensive. It’s not yet clear how the new Yemeni president will react to this attack, but it will certainly put his administration to the test. This new test, however, comes on the heels of renewed U.S. assistance which should help in the task of fighting AQAP. That being said, it does nothing to fix the years of political corruption exhibited by the Saleh regime, but undercutting the AQAP insurgency will go a long way in helping with the situation.
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