ConflictBarometer_2015

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
a second round of cross-border fire by IS militants.
On October 10, in the deadliest attack in Turkey's modern history,
two IS suicide bombers killed 102 people and wounded
over 400 during a demonstration in the capital Ankara. The
demonstration was against the resurge of violence in the
Kurdish regions [→ Turkey (PKK)]. In late October, the government
blamed IS militants from Gaziantep, eponymous
province, of having perpetrated the attack, after President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had initially declared the bombing a
collaboration between IS, PKK, PYD, and Syrian intelligence
forces [→ Syria Turkey]. On October 26, seven IS militants
and two police officers were killed during raids on IS in Diyarbakir.
Furthermore, four police officers were wounded and
at least twelve alleged IS militants arrested. During several
raids in Istanbul in October, police forces arrested around
50 alleged IS militants. On November 17, the US announced
joint operations with Turkey to secure the Syrian-Turkish border
in order to crack down on IS smuggling activities. (twt, pko)
YEMEN
After setting up a branch in Yemen in November 2014, IS
carried out attacks in Sana'a, Aden, and Shabwah governorates,
with Sana'a being the worst-affected region. IS'
organizational structure in Yemen mirrored the administrative
division of the country in governorates called Wilayas.
Most of the assaults targeted the Shiite al-Houthi minority,
also known as Zayadis [→ Yemen, Saudi Arabia (al-Houthi)].
IS especially attacked Zayadi mosques.
The first IS attack in Yemen targeted mosques in the capital
Sana'a during Friday prayers on March 20. Two suicide
bombers detonated their vests in and in front of the Zayadi
al-Badr mosque, while two others targeted worshippers in
and in front of the Zayadi Hashoush mosque in al-Jiraf,
Sana'a. Both mosques were frequented by al-Houthis. At
least 137 people were killed, among them the prominent
al-Houthi cleric al-Murtada bin Zayd al-Mahatwari, the imam
of the al-Badr mosque. Another 357 were wounded. It was
the deadliest attack for years in Yemen.
On April 14, IS released a video claiming responsibility for the
execution of 14 Yemeni soldiers from the Second Mountain
Infantry Brigade in Mayfa'a, Shabwah. Furthermore, the video
displayed the beheadings of alleged al-Houthi militants. On
May 22, IS militants belonging to the IS Wilaya Sana'a again
targeted a Zayadi mosque in Sana'a with an IED, wounding
13 people. During Ramadan, from June 18 to July 16, IS
militants carried out at least eight attacks with IEDs, seven
of which were vehicle based. On June 17, four different car
bombs were detonated by IS militants in Sana'a, targeting
two mosques, the home of an al-Houthi member, and the
al-Houthi political headquarter. The attacks left at least 50
people dead or wounded. A fifth car bomb explosion left two
people dead and six wounded at the Qiba al-Mahdi mosque
in Sana'a three days later. Further bombings targeted the
al-Houthi-controlled Saba News headquarters in Sana'a as
well as citizens gathered near a military hospital in the
Shu'aub district in Sana'a mourning the victims of previous
IS attacks. Another car bomb attack during Ramadan hit
the Shiite al-Raoudh mosque in Sana'a on July 7, leaving
one dead and wounding five. On July 18, IS Wilaya Aden
claimed responsibility for its first attack, the capturing and
killing of alleged al-Houthi fighters in Crater district, Aden.
Two days later, IS Wilaya Sana'a detonated a car bomb at
the al-Moayd mosque in Sana'a, leaving an unknown number
of people dead. Furthermore, IS Wilaya Sana'a targeted an
al-Houthi-controlled building in the capital on August 13,
again using a car bomb. On August 15, IS Wilaya Shabwah
claimed responsibility for their first action, the raid of the
al-Houthi-controlled Jardan barracks in the southern city of
Ataq, Shabwah, killing several al-Houthis. On August 24,
the IS Wilaya Sana'a targeted al-Houthi guards near the
US embassy in Sana'a. Again in Sana'a, a suicide bomber
detonated a vest with explosives in the al-Muayid mosque
on September 2, killing at least 28 and leaving 75 wounded.
Arriving medics were hit by a car bomb. Among the fatalities
were Ali al-Mashraqi, a prominent member of the Islah party,
as well as several al-Houthi fighters.
An IS suicide bomber disguised as a woman killed at least 10
people and wounded at least 36 when he blew himself up at
the Zayadi al-Balili mosque in Sana'a on September 24. On
October 10, another IS suicide bombing at al-Nour mosque in
Sana'a killed at least seven al-Houthi fighters and reportedly
wounded several others. A bombing on the house of Ahmed
Ali Abdullah Saleh, son of former President Ali Abdullah
Saleh, in al Wazirat, Sana'a, on October 12 was claimed by IS
Wilayat Sana'a. According to his father, Ahmed was in the UAE
under protection of the Emirate when the attack took place.
IS also claimed responsibility for a second IED attack which
targeted al-Houthi responders at the scene of the first attack.
On November 13, another IS-attack targeted prayers at an
al-Houthi mosque, in the Shibam area of Mahwit governorate.
The attack reportedly wounded and killed several.
The first high-profile assassination by the IS in the Yemen
was carried out by IS Wilayat Aden on December 6, when
militants killed the governor of Aden Jaafar Mohammad Saad
and at least six members of his security staff. (kpb, jri) ska
TUNISIA (AQIM ET AL.)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2011
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
AQIM, various militant groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The violent crisis over national power and the orientation of
the political system between al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM) and the Uqbah ibn Nafi Brigade, on the one hand, and
the government, on the other, continued. The most prominent
attacks in the region, namely on the Bardo Museum in the
capital Tunis, on a hotel in Sousse, and a presidential guard
bus in Tunis were carried out by newly formed IS-group Jund
al-Khilafa, comprising former AQIM-loyal fighters [→ Syria,
Iraq et al. (IS)].
The year was marked by several militant attacks and government
operations, most of them taking place in Kasserine
governorate close to the Algerian border. More than 55
people were killed on both sides. In addition, troops seized
several arms caches and arrested at least 208 people for
suspected connections with past or planned attacks. On
February 7, the Interior Ministry claimed that the army had
killed and arrested militants in Jebel Chaambi National Park,
Kasserine, without providing exact numbers of people killed.
Ten days later, around 20 Uqbah ibn Nafi Brigade members
attacked a checkpoint in Kasserine with firearms, killing four
police officers. The government deployed troops to secure
major cities one day after the Bardo Museum attack on March
18 in Tunis. Despite claims of responsibility by IS, the government
attributed the attack to militants linked to Uqbah
ibn Nafi Brigade and AQIM. The army conducted operations
in Kasserine and Gafsa governorates until May 14, resulting
in the deaths of three soldiers and at least 25 militants, one
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