Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - Tag Search

An airstrike in Yemen's Abyan province killed two alleged al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula members -- at least according to Yemen's interior ministry. But there are reports in the Yemeni press (عربي) that the bombing actually targeted members of the Southern Movement. 

The interior ministry says the attack was carried out by the Yemeni air force (it's probably keen to dispel any rumors of U.S. involvement). Security officials say the victims were AQAP members, plotting to attack targets on the Arabian Sea (a claim we've heard before).

Decent article on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the latest edition of the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Monitor. It reinforces the point that AQAP has found fertile recruiting ground in southern Yemen because of the south's political unrest and poor economic and social conditions.

There are no linkages between the southern separatist movement and AQAP, and it's unclear whether the tribes of southern Yemen truly support AQAP's ideology or simply share its antipathy for the central government in Sana'a. But there's common cause, nonetheless.

I've got a piece over on Foreign Policy looking at Yemen's near-total disappearance from the headlines over the last few weeks. There's a lot of important news happening in Yemen -- the Huthi cease-fires, the Riyadh conference, the growing unrest in the south -- and almost none of it is getting covered.

If I can paraphrase the latest statement (عربي) from Ali Mohamed Mujawar, Yemen's prime minister: We're not looking to start a sixth civil war with the Huthis, but we're not averse to it, either!

Mujawar warned today that the government would resume its fight against the Huthis unless they quickly implement the six terms of the cease-fire. The rebels say they're already well on their way to implementing the terms: The Huthis say they withdrew from Sa'ada province earlier today; they've returned all of their (living) Saudi prisoners; they've reportedly started dismantling roadblocks.

The Yemeni interior ministry has pledged to fight al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula "around the clock," according to AFP, because of the group's recent threats against U.S. interests.

It's a fanciful statement -- the Yemeni government doesn't really have the resources to prosecute a 'round-the-clock war against AQAP. It's also incorrect: AFP didn't translate the ministry's statement correctly.

Anwar al-Awlaqi, the Muslim spiritual leader who leaped into the news following revelations of his contact with Ford Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, gave a rare interview to Al-Jazeera over the weekend in which he laid out his support for attempted Christmas Day airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab but said he did not personally order Abdulmutallab's attack.

Meanwhile, an audiotape posted on a jihadi forum, purportedly from the deputy commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Sa'id al-Shihri, called on Muslims in the region to "attack and eliminate" American and "Crusader" interests everywhere, according to the BBC.

Dennis Blair, the U.S. director of national intelligence, delivered his annual "threat assessment" to Congress (pdf) this afternoon.

The 70-word executive summary -- from the Middle East/South Asia sections, at least: Al-Qaeda and its offshoots still want to attack the U.S. (big surprise); Hizballah does not want to attack the U.S. (more on that to come); Iran wants "the option" to develop a nuclear weapon (note the cautious wording); Iraq is hopeful, and its challenges are mainly political and economic; Afghanistan will be a tough slog; Pakistan still hasn't figured out counterinsurgency.

(Updated below) The U.S. Defense Department is considering a counterterrorism fund (عربي) for Yemen, modeled off a similar fund for Pakistan.

The Pakistani fund, known as the Coalition Support Fund, reimburses the Pakistani government for its support of U.S. counterterrorism activities. The U.S. has provided about $7.6 billion under the CSF since 2002. Yemen's fund would be similar: The army and security services would receive annual payments for operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Via the British foreign office, here's the final communique from yesterday's London conference on Yemen. The Yemeni government committed to a "reform agenda"; the GCC announced a meeting of Gulf countries in Riyadh on Feb. 27-28; and participants announced a "Friends of Yemen" organization, which will hold its first meeting in late March.

Abdul Malik al-Huthi, the leader of Yemen's Huthi rebels, has reportedly announced a cease-fire with Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya (عربي).

The rebels reportedly agreed to stop fighting the Saudi army, and to withdraw completely from Saudi territory. The army and the Huthis have traded control of a number of villages and border regions in recent months, particularly around the area of Jebel Dokhan.

Update: Here's a link to the memo on HRW's Web site.

Original post: I'm not sure if it's available online yet, but Human Rights Watch sent us an advance copy (pdf) of a new memo, Seven Principles for Effective International Engagement in Yemen, which they're releasing ahead of next week's London conference on Yemen. We're posting it here as a PDF file.

The memo covers everything from development aid to the importance of closing Guantanamo Bay, but the most important section -- from my perspective -- deals with the human rights abuses committed by the Yemeni government in its conflicts with Huthi rebels in the north and separatists in the south.

If you're planning to summer in Sana'a, take note: The Yemeni government will no longer issue visas at the airport, an effort to halt what it calls "terrorist infiltration." Visas will only be issued through Yemeni embassies abroad.

The move will probably please the United States and other Western countries. But it's also likely to hurt Yemen's tourism industry, already reeling from several high-profile kidnappings of foreign tourists and from the general perception of insecurity in Yemen. Tourism would be an important source of foreign currency for a country whose oil reserves are rapidly being depleted.

The Yemeni army is conducting what sounds like a very large operation in the al-Shabwan district of Marib province, and tribal leaders in the area are complaining about civilian casualties resulting from "indiscriminate shelling."

AFP reports that bombers carried out three raids on the home of Ayed al-Shabwani, the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander in the province. They also bombed an orange grove where Shabwani reportedly built a safe house.

(Updated below) Yemen's foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, admitted yesterday that his government can't provide any proof that last week's airstrike killed Qasim al-Rimi, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's military commander. Qirbi said the strike was carried out in a remote part of Yemen that is difficult for the army or police to access.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement last night denying that senior leaders -- including Qasim al-Rimi and Ayed al-Shabwani -- were killed by a Yemeni airstrike last week.

The statement, entitled "Regarding the Lies of the Tyrants and Crusaders," is posted on the forums; you can find an English version (on a non-jihadi site) here. It claims that nobody was killed in the Friday airstrike, though "some of the brothers suffer from minor wounds."

Yemen's interior ministry confirms in a statement today (عربي) that Qasim al-Rimi, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's military commander, was one of six people killed yesterday in an airstrike between Saada and al-Jawf provinces.

An airstrike between al-Jawf and Saada provinces killed at least six al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula members, including Qasim al-Rimi, according to Yemeni media reports (عربي).

Mareb Press reports that two people escaped the strike, and are "currently being pursued" by Yemeni soldiers. Rimi is a senior military commander in AQAP; he's been the target of at least two other failed assassination attempts. The attack also reportedly killed Ayed al-Shabwani, who ran AQAP operations in Marib province, according to Al-Jazeera.

Frederick Kagan is such a firm believer in counterinsurgency doctrine that he wants the United States to get involved in fighting pre-existing insurgencies. The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed this morning, which Kagan co-authored with Christopher Harnisch, urging the U.S. to get involved in Yemen's intractable Huthi insurgency.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, held a conference call with reporters this afternoon from Dubai International Airport (he's on his way back from Afghanistan). He made some surprising comments about Obama's 18-month timeline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan -- namely, that the timeline has accelerated recruiting for the Afghan army. Those comments have been widely reported.

Reporters paid less attention to his remarks on Yemen.

Yemeni security forces claim to have killed a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula during a raid in Shabwa province. Four other alleged militants were arrested, and at least nine escaped, according to reports.

The state-run SABA news agency identifies the dead AQAP leader (عربي) as Abdullah al-Mihdhar and describes him as a senior figure. The raid took place overnight in the town of Houtah. The independent Mareb Press has a photo of a burned-out car (عربي) in front of the house where Mihdhar was hiding.

Al-Thawra, another state-run paper, says the army is still searching (عربي) for 25 other militants in the province, including the nine who escaped the raid. Mareb reports that the men are wanted for burning down schools and ambushing civilians -- but that they're not all necessarily AQAP members.

Separately, two Yemeni soldiers were killed yesterday in an ambush in Shabwa province. It's unclear whether the two events are connected -- whether the army raid was in retaliation for the ambush.