Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

About

Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is an extremist group based in Yemen that emerged in January 2009 following the unification of Yemeni and Saudi terrorist elements.

AQAP’s stated goals include establishing a caliphate and implementing Sharia law in the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Middle East. AQAP has targeted local, U.S., and Western interests in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere in the world. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts, including the January 2015 assault on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people.

AQAP is an affiliate of the core al-Qa’ida (AQ) terrorist organization and works closely with AQ’s global leadership to target Western audiences and enhance collaboration with other affiliates. AQAP’s key value to the organization is its role as a financial and facilitation link between the AQ-broad network.

AQAP launched a failed December 25, 2009, attempt to destroy an airliner with a bomb worn by terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The group also hid explosives inside computer printers being shipped to the United States inside two cargo planes in late 2010; the bombs were discovered and rendered safe on October 29, 2010, during stopovers at two different locations.

On January 19, 2010, the U.S. Department of State designated AQAP as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result, all of AQAP’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with AQAP. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to AQAP.