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.