Al-Qaeda Leadership Falls in Yemen: Bloody Toll in 2025
The terrorist group Al-Qaeda in Yemen has suffered a series of severe strikes targeting its leadership throughout 2025.
The organization lost around 14 senior leaders and at least 10 additional members in successive strikes from January to September 2025.
American drones were the primary method used to eliminate Al-Qaeda commanders. Airstrikes in Shabwa and Abyan provinces killed 19 militants, including approximately nine high-ranking leaders.
Targeted assassinations by unidentified gunmen rank second, with three leaders killed in Marib and Al-Mahra provinces.
The third method involved improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which killed one commander in Marib and another during clashes with southern forces, contributing to the depletion of Al-Qaeda’s command on the ground.
Geographically, Abyan province suffered the most, with thirteen leaders and members killed—all in airstrikes—followed by Shabwa with seven, Marib with three, and finally Al-Mahra with one leader killed.
These eliminations reveal that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is at its most vulnerable point while struggling to retain a small patch of territory among the rugged hills on the borders of Shabwa, Abyan, and Al-Bayda.
Timeline (January – September 2025)
- 16 January: U.S. drone targets a vehicle in Khora, Markha Al-Sufla district (Shabwa), killing:
- Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Maghi, alias “Abu Ali Al-Disi,” warlord and Shura Council member.
- Ammar Saleh Mohammed Banan, alias “Abu Saleh Al-Diyouli,” head of assassination cells in Shabwa.
- 5 February: Motorcycle explosion in Al-Samda, Al-Wadi district (Marib) kills Mohamed Saeed Al-Mohammedi, alias “Abu Youssef Al-Hadrami,” former Emir of Al-Mukalla and religious/military leader.
- 12 February: Drone airstrike hits a stronghold in Al-Musin’a, Al-Sa’id district (Shabwa), killing Abu Mohamed Al-Hadhli Al-Makki (foreign leader).
- 13 February: Drone strike hits a base in Al-Madkhoul, Hatib district (Shabwa), killing Moussa Ibrahim Ali Awad Al-Subaihi, alias “Ayoub Al-Lahji,” former Emir of Lahj province and artillery expert.
- 20 March: Drone strikes a meeting in Wadi Al-Nassil, Mudiyah district (Abyan), killing field commander Salem Qassem Al-Kazmi Al-Marqashi, alias “Hassan Al-San’ani,” and two others: Mohamed Al-Waleedi and Ahmed Labtar.
- 10 April: Gunmen in a 4×4 vehicle assassinate prominent commander Fawaz Al-Qusaimi, alias “Ahmed Al-Qahtani,” in Al-Samda, Wadi Ubaida district (Marib).
- 23 May: Three airstrikes target a gathering in Al-Ja’adna (Abyan), killing nine members including Fad Al-Turihi, Humam Saleh Al-Ja’adni, Khattab Al-Adani, Faris Al-Hadrami, Waddah Mohammed Al-Sawda, and Ahmed Abdullah Suhail.
- 5 June: Probable drone strike hits Al-Wadi Rafd (Mudiyah, Abyan), killing field commander Daris Al-Qeifi.
- 25 July: Abu Awad Saleh Al-Tousli, emir in Al-Musin’a (Shabwa), killed during clashes with southern forces in Al-Ghassil, Hatib district (Shabwa).
- 26 August: Assassination of Abdul-Wasea Al-San’ani, dubbed “the black box,” in Al-Samda, Marib.
- 29 August: Assassination of Suleiman Abdul-Salam Al-Khashi, alias “Shaddad Al-Khulani,” in Al-Mahra province.
- 17 September: U.S. drone strikes a gathering in Markha Al-Sufla (Shabwa) near Al-Bayda border, killing several members including Khamis bin Arfaj Al-Dahmi and Saqr Al-Humaqani.
