Battle of Zinjibar
2011 CE.
Shown on the map at 13.129°, 45.380°.
The battle of Zinjibar was fought between Yemeni government forces and the Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia in and around Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan governorate. As the state was preoccupied with the Yemeni revolution, the resultant security vacuum in southern Yemen was capitalized on by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which used a local insurgent front in Ansar al-Sharia to seize territory for the first time. Using the nearby town of Jaar as a staging ground, Ansar al-Sharia invaded Zinjibar on 29 May 2011 and captured it relatively unopposed. Most security forces fled except for the 25th Mechanized Brigade, which was besieged at its base near the city. Reinforcements were brought in but were met with fierce resistance and a tightened siege on the brigade. The army partnered with the local tribes to launch an offensive on 17 July, which culminated in the relieving of the 25th Mechanized Brigade and the capture of eastern Zinjibar on 10 September.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Zinjibar (2011–2012), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.