Al-Qaida gunmen assassinate military intelligence official in Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Masked gunmen of the Yemen- based al-Qaida offshoot shot dead a high-ranking military intelligence official in the southeastern province of Hadramout on Saturday, a government official told Xinhua.
About two masked gunmen riding a motorbike fired at Colonel Ahmed Abdul-Razzak, director of the military intelligence department in Hadramout province, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"Criminals of the al-Qaida terrorist group committed a criminal act and assassinated Col. Abdul-Razzak on a main road near his home in the coastal town of Mukalla," the government source said.

Yemeni security services have repeatedly blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot for a series of assassination attacks, mostly in the country's southern regions.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which emerged in January 2009, is considered the most strategic threat to the Yemeni government and its neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

The AQAP underscores the challenges faced by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who came to power after winning support from major Yemeni political forces in February 2012.

Hadi is tasked with restoring security and stability to Yemen and putting an end to the growing influence of al-Qaida that also threatens daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

from XINHUA
Editor: Mu Xuequan
2013-04-28 00:41:20

Read More

U.S. drone strike kills 3 al-Qaida suspects in central Yemen

SANAA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed at least three suspected operatives of the al-Qaida wing in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Saturday night, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

"The U.S. unmanned aircraft targeted a group of suspected al- Qaida members onboard a four-wheel vehicle on a remote road between the villages of Khabra and Manasih, killing three of them and injuring the other one," the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

"The dead included Saleh al-Ameri who is believed to be a local leader of the terrorist group in the area," the official said.

Al-Bayda province, about 267 km southeast of the capital Sanaa, was the scene of deadly battles between the army and al-Qaida militants earlier last year.

The fresh airstrike was the fourth of its kind in less than a week against suspected members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, according to Yemeni security officials.

The previous three air raids targeted the militants in Shaher town of the southeastern province of Hadramout, leaving at least seven al-Qaida suspects dead and injuring several others.

The escalation in airstrikes came simultaneously with a newly released video tape earlier this week by al-Qaida militants, in which the terrorist group incited for more attacks against U.S. missions in Yemen.

"We, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in order to inspire for jihad and to encourage our Muslim Ummah, announce a reward of 3,000 grams of gold to whoever kills the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa," the militants said in the video message, which was posted on Jihadi websites last Sunday.

"And 5 million Yemeni Riyals to whoever kills any American soldier in Yemen," they said in the 43-minute video tape which was obtained by Xinhua.

The militants also carried out a series of deadly attacks and assassinations against Yemeni security and intelligence personnel in several provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with Sanaa government since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed the militants to capture several cities in Yemen's south.

from XINHUA
2012-12-30 02:29:22

Related articles

• Suspected US drone kills 3 al-Qaida men in Yemen (kansascity.com)

Read More

US drones kill 2 AQAP fighters in eastern Yemen

map Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

By Bill Roggio - December 28, 2012 - LWJ

US drones struck for the third time in Yemen in five days, killing two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in an attack in eastern Yemen today.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a group of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were traveling on motorcycles in the town of Shehr in Hadramout province, according to Reuters. Two AQAP fighters are thought to have been killed; their identities were not disclosed, however.

Today's strike is the second in Shehr in five days. On Dec. 24, US drones killed five AQAP fighters as they also were traveling on motorcycles in the town. A Yemeni jihadist later identified two of the five fighters killed as Abdullah Bawazir and Nabil al Kaldi. Both men had escaped from a prison in Mukallah in Hadramout in June 2011.

Also on Dec. 24, US drones killed a Jordanian and a Yemeni AQAP fighter in a strike in Rada'a in Baydah province. The Yemeni was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli; he also escaped from a prison two years ago.
Hadramout is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family, and the province has become an AQAP bastion over the past several years.

The US has stepped up drone strikes against AQAP in Hadramout this year. Prior to May, there were zero US drone strikes in the province. Since mid-May, the US launched seven attacks in Hadramout. Seven of the 41 drone strikes in Yemen this year, or 17%, have taken place in the province.

The Yemeni military claimed that Said al Shihri, AQAP's deputy emir and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a drone strike in Hadramout on Sept. 5. But al Shihri later denied the reports of his death.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/us_drones_kill_2_aqa.php#ixzz2GR74W1fS

Read More

Military intelligence officer shot dead in southeast Yemen

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead an intelligence officer in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Monday, a government official told Xinhua.

The masked assailants, who were on a motorcycle, shot and killed Shaker Bani, an inspector in the military intelligence agency in Bawazir neighborhood in Hadramout province, before fleeing the area, the local government official said, requesting anonymity.

"About two masked gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at the intelligence inspector who was heading home, leaving him gravely injured at the scene," the government source said.

Colonel Shaker Bani was rushed to a nearby military hospital where he died while receiving treatment.

Although al-Qaida militants are usually held responsible for such armed attacks and assassinations, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the drive-by shooting.

In January 2009, al-Qaida affiliates in Saudi Arabia and Yemen officially merged and formed Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group, mainly entrenching itself in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States, which considers it as an increasing threat to national security.

from XINHUA
2012-12-17 20:52:00

Read More

U.S. drone attack kills 5 in Yemen

(Reuters) - Five suspected Islamist militants were killed in a U.S. drone attack on Wednesday in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout, a Yemeni security official said.
The strike targeted a house where the suspected militants were hiding in the Wadi al-Ain area, said the security official. "Five militants were dead and three were injured and managed to escape".

The United States, which fears the spread of militants in Yemen, has stepped up attacks by unmanned aircraft this year. This is the fourth strike in two weeks in Hadramout province.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen and has mounted operations in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well as attempting to launch attacks against the United States.

On Sunday, ten civilians including a 10-year-old girl were killed by a Yemeni government air strike that apparently had missed its target.

Tribal heads met with government officials in the central city of Redaa where the attack happened, officials said.

"It's been agreed that compensation will be paid to the families of the victims," said a tribal source.

Islamist militants gained ground in Yemen and took control of several towns in the south during an uprising which forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in February.

The army, with backing from the United States, forced them out of some areas this year but they have hit back with a series of suicide bombings targeting government institutions.


from REUTERS
ADEN, Yemen, Sept 5 | Wed Sep 5, 2012 5:25am EDT
(Reporting by Dhuyazen Mukhashaf; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

Read More

US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 8 AQAP fighters

By Bill Roggio - August 31, 2012 - LWJ

US drones carried out the second strike in Yemen in three days, killing eight al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were traveling in a car in eastern Yemen today.

The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at a car as it traveled in the Hawra district in Hadramout province, according to Reuters. The Yemeni Defense Ministry claimed it carried out the strike, but sources told the news agency that US drones fired the missiles.

US military and intelligence officials would not comment on today's strike, but in the past have told The Long War Journal that the Yemeni military is not capable of launching precision strikes on moving vehicles, particularly at nighttime. The time of today's attack was not disclosed.

The exact target of today's strike has not been disclosed; no senior AQAP leaders have been reported killed in the attack. According to The Yemen Post, the fighters "were with their personal guns and explosives and it was believed they had planned to carry out terrorist attacks."

US drones have zeroed in on Hadramout province over the past month. Of the five strikes that have been recorded in August, four have taken place in the eastern province. On Aug. 29, two AQAP fighters, including a Saudi "militant," were reported killed in Hadramout. On Aug. 7, the US carried out two strikes in Yemen. Yemeni officials said that Abdullah Awad al Masri, a wanted bombmaker who is also known as Abou Osama al Maribi, was killed in one of the strikes in Hadramout that also killed two Egyptians, a Tunisian, a Saudi, and a Bahraini. And on Aug. 4, the US conducted another airstrike in Hadramout province.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/08/us_drones_strike_aga_2.php#ixzz25AFhDd9I

Read More

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

Read More