Mohammed al-Somali

Mohammed Abdullah al-Somali
Mohammed Abdullah al-Somali
Native name	محمد عبد الله الصوملي
Born	January 1965 (age 61); Shaharah, Amran Governorate, Yemen
Allegiance	Yemen
Branch	Yemeni Land Forces
Service years	1980s–2014
Rank	Major general
Unit	314th Armoured Brigade
Commands	Al-Ghaydah Brigades (1994–2004); 107th Infantry Brigade (2004–2010); 25th Mechanized Brigade (2010–2012); 37th Armoured Brigade (2012–2013); 1st Military Region (2013–2014);
Conflicts	Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Battle of Zinjibar (2011–2012) 2012 Abyan offensive; ; ;

Mohammed Abdullah al-Somali (born January 1965) is a former Yemeni military officer. Somali received education at the Yemeni Military Academy, and held several posts in the Yemeni army in the 1990s and 2000s. He came to prominence in 2011 and 2012 as commander of the 25th Mechanized Brigade, the military unit at the forefront of the Battle of Zinjibar. Somali led the brigade as it was besieged at its base for months by Ansar al-Sharia, while surviving two assassination attempts by the group before army reinforcements arrived in September 2011. After Zinjibar was liberated during the 2012 Abyan offensive, he was promoted to Major General and assigned to the 1st Military Region from 2013 to 2014.