● ISIS declared a Yemeni branch (“Wilayat al-Yemen”) in November 2014.
○ The group has created seven “Emirates” (Wilayats) with active cells in ten Yemeni provinces: Lahij, Aden, Abyan, Shabwah, Sada, Sanaa, Ibb, Taiz, al-Jawf, al-Bayda, and Hadramout.
○ Made up of former AQAP members and foreign fighters from Europe.