Throughout the world, terror attacks are unfolding orchestrated by the Islamic State, or ISIS, that has taken the lives of hundreds in the past few years. Yet, another terror group exists in the Arabian Peninsula, a group which American counterterrorism officials are saying poses the most direct threat to the United States. This group is known as Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP, and it is responsible for some of the biggest terrorist attacks in the past few years.
The Counter Extremism Project reports AQAP as the union of Al Qaeda branches in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. They carried out the attacks at the Paris satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 along with being involved in various terrorist plots in the U.S. Some of these plots include the "Christmas Day Bomber" in 2015 and the "Times Square Bomber" in 2010. Now the terrorist group carries out the majority of its attacks in Yemen.
AQAP formed in 2009 with an inaugural video stating that the group's intentions were to create an Islamic State and to implement Sharia law. They later expanded these goals in 2012 with a document that declared AQAP's primary goals are to "expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula" and "establish the Islamic Caliphate and Shari'ah rule which the apostate governments have suspended."
AQAP is believed to be the Al Qaeda affiliate most ideologically similar to Al Qaeda's broader goals of global Islamic domination. They receive most of their funding from two sources: robberies and kidnappings for ransom. Wikileaks revealed that in August 2009 AQAP stole an estimated $500,000 from a single heist. The original leader and founder of AQAP, Nasir Al-Wuhayshi, described kidnapping as "an easy spoil, which I may describe as a profitable trade and a precious treasure."
The groups primary stronghold is located in the al-Mahfad area of the Abyan Province in southern Yemen. They also have training camps located in Shabwa, Hadramawt, and Marib. A training camp in Yemen helped train Said Kouachi, one of the main attackers in the Charlie Hebdo attack.
They use various methods of recruitment such as social media and an English online magazine called Inspire. In it's first issue, Inspire published an article on how to make a bomb using everyday items. Other issues detailed how to make car bombs and a bomb that could evade airport security.
AQAP has grown rapidly and continues to grow as the civil war in Yemen rages on. The focus on ISIS has also allowed all of Al-Qaeda to strengthen and grow stronger, which is quickly making its threat grow. Now as terror attacks become more frequent its important to know which groups are out there and why they want to hurt us to better understand how to protect ourselves.
