Jama'at Ansar al-Shari ' a ( ; ' ) , also known as Ansar al-Shari ' a ' '' , is a Yemen-based umbrella organization which includes units from several militant Islamic groups of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP ) . In 2011 , AQAP created Ansar Al-Sharia as a Yemen-based affiliate focused on waging an insurgency rather than international attacks on the West . In the view of the International Crisis Group , AQAP is " an internally diverse organisation with varying layers of support among the local population " and many AAS members and allies are not committed to AQAP 's international agenda . After the Battle of Zinjibar ( May – September 2011 ) , the faction had taken control of some cities in southern Yemen in which it has instated emirates . Ansar ash-Shari ' a have also claimed responsibility for the 2012 Sana'a bombing and the 2013 Sana'a attack . As of early 2017 , AQAP and AAS were currently in a struggle for territorial control with the Houthi/Saleh forces in the governorates of al-Bayda , Shebwa , Marib , Jawf and Taiz
2013 Sana'a attack
2013 Sana'a attack
Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen)