US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen

By Bill Roggio - October 28, 2012 - LWJ

US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first strike recorded against the terror group in northern Yemen. A local al Qaeda commander was targeted, and two Saudis are thought to be among those killed.
The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at two compounds in the Abu Jabara area of Saada province today, Yemeni security officials and tribesmen told Reuters, which reported that four "militants" were killed. A local AQAP commander known as Hadi al Tais was said to be the target of the airstrike; it is unclear if he was killed.
According to The Associated Press, three AQAP fighters, including two Saudis, were killed in the attack that targeted a compound of "a wanted al Qaeda militant from another Yemeni province."
The strike is the first recorded against AQAP in northern Yemen since the US began targeting the terror group in late 2009. All of the other strikes have targeted AQAP's network and fighters in the southern provinces.
Saada is a hotspot where local Salafist groups, backed by AQAP and the government, battle the Houthis, a Shia separatist group that is supported by Iran. The Houthis, who are based in Al Jawf and Saada, have been fighting the Sunni government for years. In 2010, the Houthis also clashed with Saudi security forces along the northern border. Hundreds of Houthi fighters and Saudi troops were killed in the fighting.
In early December 2011, AQAP officially declared war on the Houthis. Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula's Mufti, issued the announcement and called the Shia a "virus" on the Sunni people. Rubaish was held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility before he was released in 2006. AQAP has conducted several suicide attacks against the Houthis, including an attack in December 2011 that killed a military commander, and another that killed 17 people, including a top Houthi leader and his son.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/10/us_drones_kill_4_aqa_1.php#ixzz2AeB1mAsP

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U.S. drone strike bombs al-Qaida hideouts in Yemen's south, 8 killed

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A pair of missiles fired from a U.S. drone slammed into al-Qaida hideouts in Yemen's southern province of Abyan early Thursday, killing at least eight militants, a security official told Xinhua.

The unmanned U.S. aircraft fired missiles at two gatherings of al-Qaida militants on the northwestern outskirts of Jaar town, killing at least eight members of the terrorist group on the scene, the local security official said, requesting anonymity.

"American drone-fired missiles hit two targets of the al-Qaida militants in Jaar's suburbs. Initial reports say eight terrorists were killed. Several militants were wounded and died later," the security official said.

Some of the dead were believed to be foreign fighters, but the security sources did not know where they were from.

"The identities of the terrorists killed in the aerial attack were not immediately clear. Some of the dead were foreigners," the source said.

A military intelligence officer confirmed to Xinhua the air strike and casualties.

Local residents said huge blasts rocked the town's neighborhoods and military warplanes were flying in the area at the time of the attack.

Yemen's military launched a month-long army offensive earlier this year and forced al-Qaida militants to flee several of their bastions in the country's restive southern and eastern provinces which they captured during last year's political turmoil.

The resurgent Yemeni branch of al-Qaida, which has increased its attacks on both Western and government targets in the Arabian Peninsula state, vowed to carry out more suicide attacks to take revenge.

Fighting al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the several challenges confronting Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions and to uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida with the help of the United States and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

from XINHUA
2012-10-18 15:08:02

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Yemeni gov't forces abort terrorist operation in Aden

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government forces managed Tuesday to abort a terrorist operation by al-Qaida militants in the southern port city of Aden, the Defense Ministry reported.

The bomb disposal unit backed by soldiers of the counter- terrorism forces defused a booby-trapped car that was parked inside a house used by al-Qaida militants in Aden's neighborhood of Mansoura, the country's defense ministry said in a brief text message obtained by Xinhua.

"A group of al-Qaida militants who were gathering inside the house fled the area early.The troops stormed the building and found an explosives-laden car," the statement said.

Yemen's military launched a month-long army offensive that forced the al-Qaida militants to flee several bastions in the country's restive southern and eastern provinces which they captured during last year's political turmoil.

The resurgent branch of al-Qaida which has increased its attacks on both Western and government targets in the Arabian Peninsula state vowed to carry out more suicide attacks to take revenge.

Fighting al-Qaida militants in restive south is one of several challenges confronting current President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes between all political factions.

Also, he has sworn to uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida with the help of the United States and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

from XINHUA
2012-10-16 16:51:47
Editor: Wang Yuanyuan

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Two killed in suicide bomb attack on Yemeni official

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

(Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed himself and a bystander in south Yemen on Saturday in an attempt to assassinate a government official who had targeted al Qaeda militants, a security source said.

The attacker walked up to the parked car of Mohammed Aidarous, head of a "popular committee" of tribal volunteers who helped the army oust militants from the town of Lawdar in Abyan province this year.

Aidarous, the local government official in charge of Lawdar, was not in the vehicle, but a bystander was also killed in the blast, the source said. Four people in the car and five passers-by were injured.

The source identified the bomber as 20-year-old Ali Mohammed Hossain from Abyan province.

Yemen has been in turmoil since an uprising against Ali Abdullah Saleh, who finally stepped down as president in February. The Arabian Peninsula state borders top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and lies on major world shipping lanes.

The army has expelled militants from Abyan towns occupied last year. But al Qaeda has struck back with assassination attempts against officials, some successful, and a suicide bombing of a military parade in May that killed 100.

Four members of Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) were killed in an ambush outside Sanaa on Friday night, the party said on its website. Eight were wounded.

It was not clear if the group was targeted because of its party affiliation. A tribal source in al-Jawf where some of the men worked said the ambush could have been a tribal vendetta.

Saleh remains head of the GPC, which retains half the seats in cabinet. His relatives control key military and security units.

Saleh was succeeded by his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has U.S. backing for a transition process that tries to balance the interests of groups including a Shi'ite Islamist movement in north Yemen, southern secessionists and tribal and Sunni Islamist groups who benefitted under Saleh's rule.

from REUTERS
ADEN | Sat Sep 29, 2012 3:03pm BST
(Reporting by Dhuyazen Mukhashaf and Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Angus McDowall in Riyadh and Jason Webb in London)

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Yemeni Defense Minister Survives Attack

Forensic policemen collect evidence at the site of a car bomb attack targeting the motorcade of the country's defense minister in Sanaa, Yemen, September 11, 2012.

Yemeni officials say at least 10 people have been killed in a car bomb attack targeting the country's defense minister.
Government sources say the minister, Mohammed Nasir Ahmad, was unharmed in Tuesday's blast near government headquarters in the capital, Sana'a.

At least five of the minister's bodyguards were among those killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack came a day after authorities announced that the second-in-command of al-Qaida's Yemen network had been killed in an army operation.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said Monday that Said al-Shehri, a Saudi national, was one of several militants killed in an operation in Hadramout province.

Al-Qaida's Yemen-based network, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, remains active in southern Yemen.  Suspected militants have carried out suicide bombings and have targeted Yemeni government officials for assassination.

from VOA News
September 11, 2012

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Yemen army says four suspected militants have been killed

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

Four suspected Islamist militants have been killed in a gunfight with Yemen’s army and allied tribal fighters in the impoverished country’s turbulent south, which has become al-Qaeda’s most formidable base, a local official said on Saturday.

Up to 50 militant fighters were battling government forces and their tribal allies near the town of Jaar, which the army recaptured in June after a 15 month occupation by Ansar al-Shariah.

The Islamist movement seized control of large swathes of southern Yemen during the turmoil caused by mass anti-government protests last year and gave shelter to al-Qaeda, flying the international militant group's flag in captured towns.

The United States has used unmanned drones to target the al-Qaeda group in Yemen, which has planned attacks on international targets including airliners and is described by Washington as the movement's most dangerous wing.

The local government official said the fighting continued late on Saturday.

On Friday, gunmen suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda had attempted to assassinate the commander of one of the tribal militias fighting alongside government forces in the south.

Tribes opposed to Ansar al-Shariah and al-Qaeda had played an important role in regaining control of Jaar and other southern towns during the summer.

Abdul Latif al-Sayed, a commander with the Popular Committees, survived the ambush on a road in Abyan Province but one of his bodyguards was killed, said another local official.

The attack was the fourth assassination attempt Sayed has survived, including a suicide bombing at a funeral last month that killed two of his brothers and 43 other people.

“The army, police and tribal fighters chased the gunmen who fled into one of the rugged valleys nearby where there were clashes between the two sides,” said the south Yemen government official, who declined to be named.

Mass anti-government protests erupted early last year, causing fighting between tribes and different factions of the army, before former President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in February to allow a transition towards democracy.

Aid groups have warned of a major humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula state, where half the population lives under the poverty line.

As well as fighting the insurgency by Islamists in Abyan, the government also faces conflict with southern secessionists and with the Houthi group of Zaidi Shiite Muslims in north Yemen.


from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Sat Sep 08, 2012 19:07 pm (KSA) 16:07 pm (GMT)

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US kills AQAP bombmaker, 9 fighters in pair of strikes in Yemen

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

By Bill Roggio - August 7, 2012 - LWJ

The US launched two drone strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen today, killing a senior bomb maker and nine other fighters. The US has now conducted three strikes in Yemen in the past four days. Meanwhile, jihadist named one of the AQAP fighters killed in Saturday's drone strike.

In the first strike, the unmanned Predators or Reapers several missiles at two vehicles traveling in the town of Rawdah in Baydah province, The Associated Press reported. Yemeni officials said that Abdullah Awad al Masri, a wanted bomb maker who is also known as Abou Osama al Maribi, was killed in the strike. It is unclear if he is a Yemeni, however his surname, al Masri, indicates he is an Egyptian.

Two Egyptians, a Tunisian, a Saudi, and a Bahraini were among the seven AQAP fighters killed in the strike. Their identities have not been disclosed.

In the second strike, a drone killed three AQAP fighters as they were traveling in a vehicle in the Zoukaika region of Hadramout province. The identity of those killed has not been disclosed.

Today's strikes follow another on Aug. 4, which also took place in Hadramount. Five AQAP fighters were killed in the strike. Jihadists said that Abu al Bara'a al Saya'ari was one of those killed, according to a statement that was released on internet forums and was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. Al Saya'ari's role in AQAP was not disclosed; the jihadists said he was the driver of the car.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/08/us_kills_aqap_bombma.php#ixzz22tKvu2jN

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Yemen tribesmen release Italian officer -official (updated)

from REUTERS
Thu Aug 2, 2012 5:44pm EDT
* Italian security officer said to be in good health

* Yemeni minister unscathed in attack, aides wounded

Aug 2 (Reuters) - An Italian embassy security officer kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen has been released unharmed, a government official said on Thursday, the same day the country's information minister survived an assassination attempt.

The incidents highlight continuing instability in Yemen five months after former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was formally replaced by his deputy under a plan designed to forestall a slide into lawlessness.

During the uprising that toppled Saleh, militants associated with al Qaeda strengthened their position in areas of south and east Yemen, further testing central government control in a country riven with tribalism and regionalism.

"The Italian diplomat was handed over to the governor of Maarib and he is in good health and will be transferred to Sanaa later to be handed over to the Italian ambassador," the official told Reuters.

The abductors who detained the security officer in the oil-producing province of Maarib had demanded to be compensated for the detention of one of their relatives and the return of land they say they own in the capital Sanaa, a tribal source said, adding they were promised their demands will be met.

In a further sign of lawlessness in the Arabian Peninsula country, the Information Minister survived an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on his car in the capital Sanaa, a government source said.

The minister was not harmed but two of his aides were wounded.

Yemen's location beside leading oil exporter Saudi Arabia and astride key world shipping routes has heightened regional and Western concern over its security problems.

Yemen ranks alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan for U.S. policymakers concerned with the spread of al Qaeda networks.

---

from AL ARABIYA:
Last Updated: Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:24 am (KSA) 08:24 am (GMT)

An Italian embassy security agent kidnapped in Yemen over the weekend was freed Thursday in the province of Mareb east of the capital Sanaa, a tribal source and a local official said.

Alessandro Spadotto was released following “tribal mediation” and handed over to local authorities, the source told AFP. He will be driven to the Yemeni capital on Friday morning.

The tribal mediation was backed by the governor of the province, the source said. A local official confirmed the release to AFP.

The interior ministry had said the kidnapper from the al-Jalal tribe seized the 29-year-old in Sanaa to press the authorities to drop charges against him in “cases of murder and banditry” and offer him compensation.

Marebpress, an Internet site close to Yemeni tribes, had said the abductor Ali Naser Huraidkan also wanted the authorities lift a travel ban against him.

“We want the state to respond and cancel a circular banning me from travel,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, Spadotto managed to contact a member of his family by mobile text message following his abduction on Sunday.

Italian news agency ANSA had cited officials as saying that he was a member of Italy’s Carabinieri military police. It also said he was picked up while in civilian clothes in a shop near the embassy.

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Yemeni security forces detain local al-Qaida leader

Map by Evan Centanni. (www.polgeonow.com)

ADEN, Yemen, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A local leader of Yemen-based al-Qaida branch was arrested by soldiers of Yemeni security apparatus on the outskirts of southern port city of Aden, a police officer said Friday.

Security soldiers managed to capture a leading member of the al- Qaida terrorist group suspected of links to a suicide bombing attack that killed a high-ranking military commander earlier this week in Aden, the local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Sami Dayyan, the captured al-Qaida leader, was behind assassinating Major General Salim Qatan, the commander of military forces in southern regions last Monday. He masterminded and planned the suicide operation," the police officer said.

"Two of his bodyguards were also arrested while they were attempting to sneak into Aden by a pick-up truck filled with explosives and suicide belts," he added.

Last Monday, the al-Qaida group claimed responsibility for assassinating Major General Salim Qatan, the commander of military forces in south Yemen.

The group also warned that more suicide attacks would follow if intensified air strikes and military campaigns against the al- Qaida hideouts across the southern regions do not stop.

Yemen's military presses a withering assault aiming at quelling a resurgent branch of al-Qaida which has increased its attacks on both Western and government targets in the Arabian Peninsula state.

The month-long army offensive forced the al-Qaida militants to flee several bastions in the country's restive southern and eastern provinces which they captured during last year's political turmoil.

The al-Qaida militants remain in control of the smaller town of Mahfad in Abyan and other cities in neighboring Shabwa province.

Fighting al-Qaida militants in restive south is one of several challenges confronting current President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes between all political factions. Also, he has sworn to uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.

from Xinhua
Editor: Deng Shasha
2012-06-22 21:52:09

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US drone strikes kill 5 AQAP fighters, 1 civilian in southern Yemen

by Bill Roggio - March 30, 2012 - LWJ

Unmanned US strike aircraft killed five Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a pair of strikes in a province in southern Yemen known to serve as a haven for the terror group.

The first strike targeted a vehicle as it was traveling in the city of Azzan in Shabwa province. Four AQAP fighters were killed and three were "critically wounded," Yemeni officials told The Associated Press. Reuters reported that five AQAP fighters and one civilian were killed.

The vehicle is said to have been transporting senior AQAP leaders who had left a mosque in Azzan after Friday prayers, but the identity of those killed has not been disclosed.

In the second strike, the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a building in Azzan that is thought to be used by AQAP. Four civilians were said to have been wounded in the strike.

Azzan is one of several cities and towns in southern Yemen that are under the control of AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Shariah. AQAP took control of Azzan in early June 2011, after seizing Zinjibar, the provincial capital of neighboring Abyan province. The cities of Al Koud, Ja'ar, and Shaqra are currently run by AQAP. The terror group also seized control of Rada'a in Al Baydah in January but later withdrew after negotiating a peace agreement with the local government.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/03/us_drone_strikes_kil.php#ixzz1qeGF2VQa
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AQAP top leader might have been killed in the US drone attack 

By Nasser Arrabyee,30/03/2012

Four Al Qaeda operatives were killed in a US drone attack on a vehicle moving between two Al Qaeda strongholds in the southern province of Shabwa, said sources in AlQaeda-controlled  hospital late Friday.

"Only four dead bodies arrived here the hospital of Azzan, " the sources said.
" It is very difficult who these bodies are, they are very black."

Other sources said the top leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAQ), Nasser Al Wahaishi, and Saad Bin Atef, and a Syrian expert on making bombs and explosives, were among those who were in the car.

Meanwhile, armed tribesmen loyal to the Islamist party, Islah, are preparing to control the international airport of the Yemeni capital Sana'a, said local sources Friday.

The militants of Islah, in cooperation with Al Qaeda fighters    in Arhab area, about 30 km north of Sanaa,started early Friday  to attack the 63 brigade (republican guards) with heavy, medium and small size weapons, said the local source from Arhab,

Four armed vehicles  with dozens of militants are positioning now in the area of Asda,about 500 meters away from the 63 brigade, in addition to  similar other positions from two directions of  Assama  mountain which overlooks the airport, the sources said.

Related articles

• US drone strikes kills 5 AQAP fighters in southern Yemen (longwarjournal.org)
• AQAP top leader might have been killed in the US drone attack (http://narrabyee-e.blogspot.com)

• U.S. drones raid al-Qaida militants in southeast Yemen, 7 terrorists killed (news.xinhuanet.com)

   

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Yemeni intelligence officer killed in ambush by suspected al-Qaida

Yemen division 2011-10-23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ADEN, Yemen, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A senior military intelligence officer was killed late Saturday night when suspected al-Qaida gunmen ambushed his convoy in Yemen's restive southern province of Lahj, a Yemeni security official said Sunday.

The al-Qaida militants ambushed the military convoy of Major Kamal Ashwal near the Anad air force base east of Houta, the provincial capital of Lahj, killing him at the scene and injuring two of his bodyguards, the local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"After killing the intelligence officer, the al-Qaida gunmen clashed with police forces in downtown Lahj and there is a large presence of the terrorists in the suburbs of the city," the official said.

"Al-Qaida gunmen were attempting to seize a number of neighborhoods in Lahj, but they failed," he added.

Elsewhere in neighboring Abyan province, two al-Qaida gunmen were killed in Mudiyah district during armed clashes with pro- government tribesmen, according to local residents.

Security forces and intelligence officials are regularly targeted in the country's southern and eastern provinces as militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP) attempting to expand their foothold and take control over the lawless regions.

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8 Yemeni soldiers injured in shootout with suspected al-Qaida militants

Image via Wikipedia

ADEN, Yemen, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least eight government soldiers were injured Tuesday evening during a gun fight with suspected al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southeastern province of Shabwa, a security official told Xinhua.

Gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaida group attacked a military checkpoint positioned in the Ataq city, the provincial capital of Shabwa, injuring at least eight army soldiers, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"The army soldiers exchanged gunfire with the assailants for more than half an hour before they fled the scene by motorbikes," the official said.

Another military source near the scene told Xinhua anonymously that "two terrorists were killed in the shootout with the army troops."

Shabwa, some 458 km southeast of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, is considered to be a stronghold of hundreds of militants from the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday that unknown gunmen shot dead a member of the security forces in the southern province of al-Dhalea, without giving further details.

Earlier this week, dozens of al-Qaida militants attacked an army outpost in the neighboring southern province of Abyan, killing more than 180 soldiers and looting the base along with its heavy weaponry, tanks and armored vehicles, according to senior army officials.

Suicide car bombings and violent attacks against the army have increased over the past two weeks. A deadly suicide bombing targeting the presidential palace in the southern province of Hadramout killed nearly 30 soldiers of the elite Republican Guard forces. The al-Qaida wing claimed responsibility for the attack in the following day.

The AQAP attacks underscore the challenges facing the Yemeni government, which is tasked with restoring security and stability to Yemen and putting an end to the growing influence of al-Qaida that threatens the daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Related articles

• Huge death toll doubles in Yemen 'slaughter' (cnn.com)

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AQAP's Ansar al Sharia executes 3 US 'spies'

By Bill Roggio - - February 13, 2012 12:55 PM

Images of the three "spies" executed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

Ansar al Sharia, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's political front, has released a videotape of the confessions of three Yemenis who were accused of spying for the US and placing tracking chips on vehicles that resulted in the deaths of 10 AQAP fighters in US-led airstrikes. The video, along with an accompanying statement by AQAP on the charges against the men and others also accused of spying for the US and Saudi intelligence, was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
The three men who confessed were reported yesterday to have been beheaded.
Below is a sample of AQAP/Ansar al Sharia's "charges" against one of the slain spies:

The accused, 'Abu Abdul Rahman al-Maribi Salih Ahmed Salih al-Jamili' admitted in front of the judicial committee to the accusations directed at him, and he received his just punishment. The following people are wanted for justice in this case: the one named Ali bin Saeed bin Ma'ili, the one named Ma'id bin Nasser bin Qamad, and the one named Khamis al-Mashi'i, for their participation in recruiting the one named Abu Abdul Rahman Salih Ahmed Salih al-Jamili and aiding him with money, techniques, and constant contact with the command center that is directing the American air force through the national security.

For more information on Ansar al Sharia, see LWJ report, US 'drones' kill 15 al Qaeda fighters in southern Yemen.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/02/aqaps_ansar_al_sharia_executes.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz1mJ5hYPnX

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AQAP operative killed in recent drone strike in Yemen

Image via Wikipedia

by Bill Roggio - February 3, 2012 - LWJ

A Yemeni jihadist claimed that an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative linked to the suicide attack against the USS Cole in Aden in late 2000 was killed by a US drone strike three days ago in southern Yemen.

Abdul Mun'im Salim al-Fatahani (or Abdel-Monem al-Fathani), was killed in the Jan. 31 Predator airstrike near the city of Lawder in Abyan province, according to a statement posted yesterday on two prominent jihadist Internet forums. He was reportedly killed the same day the strike took place, but his death was not confirmed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir or leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "broke down in tears before noon today on the road between 'Azzan in Shabwa and Mudiyah in Abyan province, upon seeing the body of the leader Abdul Mun'im Salim Amqidah al Fatahani," according to the statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"Fatahani had died in [an] Azzan hospital after getting hit in the neck with shrapnel, which resulted from an American airstrike against two cars belonging to Ansar al Shariah last night in the area of al Khadirah," the statement continued. Ansar al Shariah is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's political front.

According the statement, Fatahani was buried in the "Tha'obah cemetery, in northern Mudiyah," a town in Abyan province, where he was born. Mudiyah is known to host a large training camp for the terror group. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda opens new training camp in Yemen.]

Fatahani is said have been involved in the October 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden that killed 17 US sailors and put the warship out of commission for months before it was repaired. The Yemeni jihadist also said that Fatahani was involved in the bombing that damaged the Limburg, an oil tanker, in 2002.

The Jan. 31 strike near Lawdar is the first reported attack by the US since Dec. 22, 2011, when US drones are said to have targeted Abdul Rahman al Wuhayshi, the brother of Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Abdul Rahman was targeted in Dofas near Zinjibar. He is rumored to have been killed, but his death was never confirmed. AQAP did not announce his death.

Last fall, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the ideologue and operational commander of the terror group, and his son, Abdul Rahman, in separate strikes in southern Yemen. [For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 11 AQAP leaders, fighters: report.]

Related articles

• AQAP operative killed in recent drone strike in Yemen (longwarjournal.org)

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Army offensive kills 20 al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen

Image via Wikipedia

At least 20 al-Qaida militants were killed early Thursday when the Yemeni army forces attacked various positions of the terrorist group in the turbulent southern province of Abyan, a senior army officer said Xinhua reported

Various militant positions and fortifications on the northeastern outskirts of Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan, were targeted in the large-scale army offensive, leaving at least 20 terrorists killed, the local army officer engaged in the fighting told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Five foreign militants were among the killed, including three Africans, the officer said, adding that "the army forces escalated the military operations against the al-Qaida group in an attempt to put an end to the fighting and drive the militants out of the seized cities soon."
Sources close to the al-Qaida terrorist group confirmed to Xinhua the toll, saying that "their hideouts were pounded by unprecedented heavy artillery bombings."
The al-Qaida militants threatened to launch retaliatory attacks against the army troops, according to the sources.
The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula controlled several regions in the south part of the country, where clashes between government forces and the militants became regular after months of domestic protests calling for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh' s resignation.

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