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.

A group of 200 fighters had stormed the town, freed at least 150 prisoners, killed 2 soldiers in clashes with the army and secured multiple weapons caches and military vehicles.

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.

[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.