Aden-Abyan Islamic Army

The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army is an Islamist militant organization based in southern Yemen. The group was responsible for attacks on Yemeni socialists prior to the 1993 parliamentary elections and the kidnapping of 16 foreign tourists in the December 1998 in Abyan, when Yemeni government forces attacked the place where the hostages were being held resulting in four of the hostages being killed while the remainder were freed. The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army was also believed by some experts to have been involved in the 2000 USS Cole bombing in Aden. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by Canada and the United Kingdom.