The Triangle of Death: How Al-Qaeda Militarized the Borders of Central and Southern Yemen
From time to time, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula resurfaces on the Yemeni scene through its violent attacks and movements originating from the central and southern regions of the country.
This border zone, now locally referred to as the “Triangle of Death,” stretches between the liberated provinces of Shabwa and Abyan, and Al-Bayda, which is under Houthi control. It serves as a strategic launchpad for Al-Qaeda’s operations, including ambushes.
According to security sources, Al-Qaeda militants roam freely within this triangle and have set up a security checkpoint only a few meters away from the positions of the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
Khoura
Within this triangle lies, according to the same sources, the Ama’zayfa camp in the town of Khoura, located in the Markha al-Sufla district in the southwest of Shabwa. The group is entrenched in remote, rugged areas bordered to the west by Houthi military positions affiliated administratively with Al-Bayda.
Khoura is a main passage connecting northern and central Yemen to its south via a rough road. It lies about 120 kilometers from Shabwa’s capital, Ataq, making its liberation a major challenge for local security and military forces.
The town has around 70,000 inhabitants who suffer from a lack of services, allowing Al-Qaeda to establish a checkpoint on its border with Al-Bayda, where a black flag is raised, according to a traveler who passed through the area.
On November 9, Al-Qaeda targets in Khoura were subjected to U.S. airstrikes for the first time in years, hitting a weapons depot and an explosives-manufacturing workshop belonging to the group, with the aim of reducing its capabilities, according to the sources.
Al-Musayni‘a
In addition to Khoura, Al-Qaeda maintains a presence in the town of Al-Musayni‘a in the Al-Saeed district, also part of Shabwa province. It is bordered by the rugged Al-Kawr mountain range, stretching to the Al-Mahfed district in Abyan.
Southern forces had eliminated the Al-Qaeda emir in Al-Musayni‘a, Abu Awad Saleh Al-Tousli, on July 25, 2025, during clashes in the Ard Al-Ghaseel area of Khattib district.
A military source believes that Al-Musayni‘a and the Al-Kawr mountains were likely the starting point for the large-scale terrorist attack launched by Al-Qaeda on October 21 against the government complex in Al-Mahfed district (Abyan), using two car bombs and eight suicide attackers.
Although southern forces effectively neutralized the attack, it sounded the alarm over Al-Qaeda’s growing capabilities and its efforts to maintain influence in Shabwa and Abyan.
Former strongholds in Abyan
In Abyan province, there are no longer clearly defined areas where Al-Qaeda is based due to the military campaign carried out by forces of the Southern Transitional Council and the Yemeni government.
However, a local source confirms that the organization continues to operate through cells strongly present in the districts of Mudiyah, Jayshan, Al-Wadi‘, and Al-Mahfed, relying on mountainous routes to reach its former strongholds such as Wadi Omran and Wadi Rafdh in the east of the province.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula remains the most dangerous branch of the global Al-Qaeda network. It has been led since March 2024 by Saad bin Atef Al-Awlaki. According to UN reports, “cooperation between the Houthis and the organization has increased, including the training of Al-Qaeda members and the provision of medical treatment to them in Houthi-controlled areas, indicating a Houthi strategy aimed at consolidating power through alliances.”
The agreement between the Houthis and Al-Qaeda to halt hostilities and wage a war of attrition against government forces remains in effect. The two sides exchanged prisoners on March 31.
