Battle of Zinjibar | |||||||
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Part of Yemeni Revolution, al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari Ayad al-Shabwani † Awad Mohammed Saleh al-Shabwani † Hassan Basonbol † |
Brig. Gen. Ahmad Awad Hassan al-Marmi † Gen. Faisal Ragab Gen. Abdel Hakim al-Salahi Sheikh Abu Bahr Ashal † |
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Strength | |||||||
300 fighters (initially) 2,000 fighters (later) 400 al-Shabab fighters (since August) |
25th Mechanised Brigade 111th Infantry Brigade 119th Artillery Brigade 201st Artillery Brigade 450 tribal fighters |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
374-386 militants killed, 128 militants wounded, 12 militants captured |
232 soldiers killed, 330+ soldiers wounded, 50 soldiers missing, 10 soldiers captured 51 tribesmen killed |
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33 civilians killed |
Coordinates: 13°07′43″N 45°22′50″E / 13.128612°N 45.380479°E
Ansar al-Sharia victory
The Battle of Zinjibar was a battle during the 2011 Yemeni Revolution between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), for control of the town of Zinjibar and its surroundings as part of the wider insurgency in the self-declared Al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen. Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sharia ("Partisans of Sharia").