From Yemen to Somalia: Houthi Alliance with al-Shabaab Threatens Shipping in the Gulf of Aden

The Wall Street Journal has revealed new details surrounding the killing of Somali national Jibril Yahya Ali in a U.S. strike, indicating that he played a pivotal role in establishing a channel of communication between Yemen’s Houthi movement and Somalia’s al-Shabaab, as cooperation between the two armed groups continues to expand despite the sectarian divisions that have long separated them.

According to a report by the newspaper’s Africa bureau chief, Michael M. Phillips, Jibril was killed on February 12, when a vehicle carrying him and his Yemeni wife, Bador Murshid, was targeted on a beach outside the Yemeni city of Al Ghaydah.

The couple had gone out for a drive at sunset when Bador’s phone rang. She stopped the car and got out to answer the call. Moments later, a U.S. missile struck the vehicle from above but failed to detonate, instead tearing through its roof and bodywork and killing Jibril instantly. One of his friends managed to pull his wife from the vehicle and smuggle her away from the scene, according to the newspaper.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the operation confirmed that Jibril’s death resulted from a U.S. airstrike. U.S. Central Command, however, said the incident was not a military operation, while a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) declined to comment on whether the agency was behind the killing.

 

From Arms Smuggling to Building an Alliance

 

Jibril, a Somali national, had met his Yemeni wife through an arms dealer who helped him purchase military-grade weapons from the Houthis, before he began smuggling them to al-Shabaab in Somalia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Over time, this activity evolved into a channel for cooperation between the two sides. Al-Shabaab, considered one of al-Qaeda’s wealthiest branches, had access to funds but needed weapons and training. The Houthis, meanwhile, possessed more sophisticated weaponry and technical expertise, while also seeking funding, aiming to expand their influence, and looking to open new routes that could be used to threaten Western interests.

According to U.S., Somali, and Yemeni officials, Jibril had been working as a liaison between the two groups since at least 2023, capitalizing on their shared hostility toward the United States and Israel despite the sectarian differences between the Houthis, who are predominantly Shiite, and al-Shabaab, which is predominantly Sunni.

Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, a former head of Somalia’s intelligence service, told the newspaper that the common ground between the two sides was that they “hate the West and hate Israel.”

According to an internal assessment reviewed by the newspaper, Yemen’s counterterrorism agency described Jibril as “one of the key figures in strengthening ties between the Houthis and al-Shabaab through the exchange of expertise and coordination, particularly in facilitating the transfer of weapons and military equipment.”

Matt Bryden, a former United Nations official who monitored arms flows into Somalia, said Jibril had been moving covertly between Yemen and Somalia. Bryden also provided details about Jibril’s life and the circumstances surrounding his death during a closed-door intelligence briefing held in June, which was attended by U.S. special operations forces personnel and government officials from East Africa.

 

A Fake Passport and Arms Deals

 

Jibril, who was around 38 years old when he was killed, had studied veterinary medicine in Yemen and run a charitable organization in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He also owned a money-exchange office and an import-export company, according to information reported by the newspaper.

According to the intelligence briefing, the Houthis provided him with a furnished apartment in Sana’a and allowed him to attend official events. They also issued him a forged Yemeni passport that appeared genuine and convincing and bore an alias.

In 2024, al-Shabaab sent a senior emissary, Sheikh Ahmed Alami Samatar, to work with Jibril. Samatar carried a list of weapons that the group had requested from the Houthis, which was reviewed by the newspaper. The list included shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, 107mm Katyusha rockets, Dragunov sniper rifles, attack drones, anti-tank missiles, and U.S.-made night-vision equipment.

 

A U.S. military intelligence official confirmed that al-Shabaab was seeking more sophisticated weapons from the Houthis, in addition to rifles, machine guns, and ammunition.

According to the intelligence report, Yemeni authorities arrested Samatar in January 2025. He was later released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the Houthis and returned to Somalia, while Jibril remained responsible for overseeing the group’s interests in Yemen.

Jibril subsequently continued to broker arms deals, while al-Shabaab sent two weapons specialists to Yemen to assist him. Bryden said the group appointed a replacement for him in Yemen to continue its activities following his death, while his wife, Bodor Murshid, remains at large.

 

Covert Routes for Arms Transfers

 

The information reported by the newspaper reveals a weapons-smuggling network operating across the Gulf of Aden, relying on Yemeni front companies to conceal the nature of the shipments by declaring them as civilian goods.

According to a report by Yemen’s intelligence service, the shipments are transported to Mukalla and other ports before being moved across the Gulf of Aden aboard speedboats or fishing vessels. The weapons are then brought ashore through poorly monitored coastal areas in northern Somalia and subsequently transferred to al-Shabaab’s combat units in the south of the country.

In April 2025, the United States destroyed two unflagged boats as they entered Somali waters from Yemen. U.S. Africa Command said the vessels were carrying sophisticated conventional weapons.

It remains unclear which of the weapons on al-Shabaab’s list of requests to the Houthis the group actually managed to obtain. However, the potential acquisition of attack drones or other weapons capable of striking U.S. and Somali bases from the air has raised concerns among the two militaries.

Brigadier General Ahmed Abdullah Sheikh, a former commander of Somalia’s special forces, told the newspaper: “I don’t know what their plans are, but there is definitely something being planned.”

 

Somaliland Enters the Fray

 

Security concerns are becoming increasingly complex amid developments involving Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 in a move that has not received international recognition.

According to the report, Israel’s recognition of Somaliland’s independence last December could pave the way for Tel Aviv to establish a foothold in the coastal city of Berbera, overlooking the Gulf of Aden. The city is home to a long runway that NASA previously leased for use as an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle.

Israeli sources believe that Berbera’s strategic location could provide Israel with an additional vantage point from which to monitor the Houthis and potentially carry out operations against them.

Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli intelligence official, said the Houthis were central to Israel’s calculations in recognizing Somaliland, adding: “A military presence in Somaliland gives you a very powerful position from which to confront the Houthis.”

The Israeli government did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.

For his part, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised address this month that his group was monitoring Israeli activities in Somaliland, accusing Israel of seeking to gain control of the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea.

Al-Houthi said: “We will act at any time to target any Israeli enemy activity or presence in Somaliland.”

 

Houthi Delegation in Southern Somalia

 

The relationship between the Houthis and al-Shabaab has extended beyond arms smuggling, with information obtained by the newspaper indicating that their cooperation has progressed to the level of operational coordination and training.

In June, a four-member Houthi delegation sailed from Yemen across the Gulf of Aden before reaching southern Somalia. The delegation then traveled through remote areas to meet with representatives of al-Shabaab in Jilib, which is regarded as the de facto capital of territories controlled by the group, according to a regional intelligence source.

According to a witness account and an intelligence source, the Houthi delegation discussed with al-Shabaab leaders ways to disrupt Israeli activities in Berbera, amid Houthi concerns that the port could be transformed into a permanent base for Israel to conduct surveillance operations and launch attacks against Yemen.

In return, the Houthis promised al-Shabaab leaders that they would provide more advanced weapons and training for the group’s operatives, according to a report reviewed by the newspaper and prepared by an agent working for the regional intelligence source.

 

Training in Drones and Explosives

 

According to a U.S. military intelligence official, al-Shabaab fighters regularly travel to Yemen to receive training in the manufacture of more lethal improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the use of advanced weapons. The official said that at least 100 members of the group have made such trips.

The United Nations reported last year that al-Shabaab had been sending groups of around 30 militants to Yemen for training in marksmanship and air-defense operations, as well as techniques for manufacturing improvised explosive devices and explosive traps.

In 2024, the first group of trainees underwent a preparatory course before leaving Somalia. The course included religious instruction and guidance on coping with the difficulties of communicating with family members while abroad, followed by a farewell ceremony featuring motivational speeches for the departing militants, according to information gathered by a regional intelligence source.

During the briefing held in June, Bryden said that a group of al-Shabaab fighters had spent three months earlier this year in Yemen’s Saada governorate, where they received training in assembling drones and using systems that allow operators to view images captured by drone cameras as though they were inside the cockpit.

A U.S. military official said Houthi trainers, in turn, travel to Somalia to train al-Shabaab members in operating drones.