Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, romanized: Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit. 'Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula' or تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, "Organization of Jihad's Base in the Arabian Peninsula"), commonly abbreviated as AQAP is a SunniIslamist militant group which is part of the al-Qaeda network and is primarily active in Yemen and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia.[31] It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.[31][32]
Originally established in 2009 as a merger between al-Qaeda in Yemen and al-Qaeda of Saudi Arabia, the group took advantage of the 2011 Yemeni Revolution to seize and establish several emirates in southern Yemen, including in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan governorate.[33] After being driven out through a government offensive in 2012, the group began shifting to eastern Hadhramaut governorate while maintaining a presence across the country.[34] AQAP would once again capitalize on political turmoil in the country when the Yemeni civil war broke out in 2015. During that year, the group seized much of Hadhramaut, including its capital Mukalla, reestablished its emirates in the south, including Zinjibar, and was active in 82 of Yemen’s 333 districts.[33] AQAP would reach its peak in power in early 2016 after connecting its territory in Abyan and Shabwah governorates through an offensive in February. Its strength has since waned due to internal struggles and operations waged against them by multiple parties in the civil war, as well as through a drone campaign by the United States which has killed many of its senior members and leaders.[33]
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^Zelin, Aaron (21 September 2012). "Know Your Ansar al-Sharia". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2024.