WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In its recent Country Reports on Terrorism for 2015, the State Department estimated that al-Qaeda in Yemen has about 4,000 members.
"Photographs of a massive AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] gathering in Mukallah [southern Yemen] in March, along with the group’s gains in the conflict, suggest that even the new estimate is likely too low," the report stated.
The report explained that, although AQAP left Yemen’s port city of Mukallah in April 2015, it was able to hold it for a year, which likely enabled the group’s continued growth.
Additionally, the group "looted an estimated $100 million from banks" and took in nearly $2 million per day on taxes at the port while it occupied Mukallah, according to media reports.
The ongoing Saudi Arabian-led military bombardment of Yemen and resulting humanitarian disaster has given the AQAP new ground for growth, the Soufan Group noted.
