Abyan governorate & jihad

Yemen's Abyan governorate has been the centre of severe levels of Islamist extremist violence in the past month. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed a series of attacks against the security forces which have left dozens of people dead. The campaign has been waged by approximately 300 jihadists (estimate) who are based in the rugged mountains surrounding the governorates main towns and cities. The group has the backing of a number of locals who are thought to be supplying the group with armaments and supplies. In response the government has deployed hundreds of fresh troops to the governorate to quell, what is seemingly becoming, a violent uprising. There efforts in Lowder, an AQAP stronghold, are admirable; however, its use of indiscriminate bombing against AQAP positions in civilian areas that is worrying, particularly from a counter-insurgency standpoint which mandates that in order to crush a guerrilla force it is imperative that the local community support the effort. The bombardments are likely to affect AQAP but will also benefit the group's recruitment drive.