Bin Laden was upset when Saudi Arabia and the United States soon afterwards accepted a Yemeni unification agreement in which the Yemen Socialist Party leaders would continue to serve in the government.

[140] On 8 February, AQAP deputy leader Said Ali al-Shihri called for a regional holy war and blockade of the Red Sea to prevent shipments to Israel.

[167] On 30 September, American-Yemeni cleric and alleged AQAP member Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the town of Khashef, al-Jawf governorate, while travelling in a vehicle.

[169] The U.S. government placed Awlaki on a CIA kill list and froze his assets a year before, accusing him of inciting and directing multiple terror plots in the United States, including the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

On 31 March, a large group of AQAP fighters attacked an army checkpoint in Lahij governorate during the night, sparking a battle that left 20 soldiers and 4 insurgents dead.

The same day, the Yemeni Interior Ministry stated that AQAP had seized several villages in Hadhramaut, including Ghayl Ba Wazir, supposedly in a bid to establish an emirate in the governorate.

AQAP also released a statement the same day claiming to have captured Odien, a small town close to Ibb, for a short time in order to not let the Houthis seize it.

[277] On 22 October, reports indicated that AQAP flags were being hung up in different parts of the seemingly government-controlled Aden governorate, including Tawahi district, which they allegedly had full control over and were patrolling with convoys.

[281][282] On 22 December, suspected AQAP gunmen killed Popular Resistance Committee leader Jalal al-Awbali and an army colonel in Dar Sad District, Aden.

On 1 January, Popular Committee fighters attacked an AQAP convoy heading to Aden killing 3 members including senior Sharia cleric Ali Abed al-Rab bin Talab.

[299] On 15 April, as a part of its campaign to secure Aden and its surrounding areas, government forces retook al-Houta from AQAP as they fled the city, arresting 49 militants in the operation.

The battle killed 15 AQAP fighters and 11 soldiers[322] Anti-AQAP operations by coalition and American forces increased significantly under newly inaugurated U.S. president Donald Trump.

Originally meant to be unexpected, AQAP prematurely detected the SEALs, eventually leading to a heavy firefight in the village which claimed the life of 1 American soldier and wounded 5 others.

An airstrike on 2 March in Wadi Yashbum, Shabwah killed multiple AQAP members including senior leader Usayd al-Adani and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamed Tahar.

[333] On 23 May, DEVGRU conducted another raid against AQAP in Ma'rib governorate, targeting a compound of the group using 'a combination of small arms fire and precision airstrikes' in order to gather intelligence.

[336] On 2 August, an AQAP suicide car bomb attacked the base of a UAE-backed pro-government force in Rudum district, Shabwah, killing 6 soldiers and destroying 2 vehicles.

[337] On 3 August, Yemeni and Emirati forces backed by a small contingent of U.S. troops launched an offensive to oust AQAP from their southern stronghold, starting with Shabwah.

[339] Major fighting reportedly did not take place as AQAP simply retreated from the governorate, letting the government establish control in many areas for the first time in multiple years by 7 August.

[349][350] On 26 February, Shabwani Elite forces backed by UAE soldiers launched an operation against AQAP strongholds in Shabwah, securing major roads in the northern portion of the governorate on the same day.

[352] On 7 March, Security Belt Forces with assistance from the UAE and the coalition launched Operation Sweeping Torrent to clear al-Mahfad district and Wadi Hamara, some of AQAP's last strongholds in Abyan.

[369] On 7 April, UAE and Security Belt forces launched a large anti-terror military campaign to clear a number of mountains and valleys located in the Mahfad town, then a key hideout of AQAP militants.

UAE-backed Yemeni security forces succeeded in seizing arms and ammunition, including hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and communication equipment and AQAP militants fled to other areas.

[260] On 21 April, Houthi forces uploaded a video claiming to have captured a base of Ansar al-Sharia in the Khasaf area of al-Jawf, amidst a wider offensive in the governorate against the Yemeni government.

Due in part to their violent conflict with ISY cooling down during the year,[260] AQAP shifted its rhetoric and attacks towards Houthi forces, attempting to attract anti-Houthi tribes in al-Bayda.

[393] Since being expelled from al-Qayfa due to the Houthi offensive the previous year, AQAP's activities in 2021 were largely confined to the al-Sawma'ah, Dhi Na'im and Mukayras districts in southeast al-Bayda.

This change in strategy may be the result of AQAP's growing influence under Saif al-Adel, a senior Egyption al-Qaeda leader based in Iran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

[410] The same day, the STC announced the second phase of the operation with additional forces being sent to al-Wade'a, Mudiyah, Lawdar, and Ahwar districts to target AQAP strongholds in the governorate.

[435][438] In May 2010, an errant U.S. drone attack targeting al Qaeda members in Wadi Abida, Yemen, killed five people, including Jaber al-Shabwani, deputy governor of Maarib province.

According to the Times, Yemen asked the United States to suspend the strikes after one of the missiles killed a pro-Yemeni tribal leader, Sheikh Jaber al-Shabwani, the deputy governor of Marib province, resulting in his tribe turning against the Yemeni government.

[440] On 3 June 2011, American manned jets or drones attacked and killed Abu Ali al-Harithi, a midlevel al-Qaeda operative, as well as several other militant suspects in a strike in southern Yemen.