Operation Golden Swords

Operation Golden Swords
	Part of the South Yemen insurgency
	; Map of Yemen showing Abyan Governorate.
Date	12 May – 23 June 2012; (1 month, 1 week and 4 days)
Location	Zinjibar and Jaʿār, Abyan Governorate, Yemen
Result	Yemeni government victory 2012 Sana'a bombing; Government forces recapture Zinjibar, Jaar and Shuqrah in mid-June; Militants pull back to Azzan in Shabwah Governorate, then abandon it peacefully on 17 June; AQAP and its allies return to an insurgency campaign in Abyan and neighboring provinces;
Belligerents
Yemeni Government; Supported by:; United States; Saudi Arabia	Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Ansar al-Sharia; ;
Commanders and leaders
Abdullatif Al-Sayed; Gen. Salem Ali Qatan † ; Brig. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Ali ; Saleh al-Ahmar	Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari; Nasir al-Wuhayshi; Said Ali al-Shihri; Qasim al-Raymi; Ibrahim al-Asiri; Qaed al-Dahab (WIA) Sheikh Hatim al Moqbil
Strength
2,000 fighters (Zinjibar)	Thousands of troops, backed by tanks and fighter jets; Local tribal militias
Casualties and losses
78 soldiers, 26 tribal fighters killed	429 militants killed
	34 civilians killed

Operation Golden Swords was an offensive by the Yemeni military against Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in the province of Abyan with the purpose of re-capturing the militant-held towns of Zinjibar and Jaʿār.

On 12 May, the military started the offensive in an attempt to recapture all areas of Abyan out of their control. Over a month of fighting, 567 people were reportedly killed, including 429 Islamist fighters, 78 soldiers, 26 tribal fighters and 34 civilians. On 12 June the Yemeni army succeeded in retaking Zinjibar and Jaar, pushing the militants away after heavy clashes in and around both towns. The city of Shuqrah fell on 15 June, and militants retreated towards neighboring Shabwah Governorate.