5 al-Qaida militants killed in U.S. drone strike in southeast Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Missiles fired by a U.S. drone killed at least five al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout on Monday evening, a government official told Xinhua.

The U.S. drone fired several missiles at a gathering of al- Qaida militants riding on motorbikes in Shaher town in Hadramout, leaving at least five terrorists killed at scene, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"The deadly air bombing occurred in an area that is widely believed to be the main operating base of al-Qaida members in Hadramout," he added.

Earlier in the day, a U.S. air strike targeted a suspected al- Qaida group in Yemen's another southeastern province of al-Bayda, killing at least two people, including a Syrian national.

Militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch are blamed for scores of attacks and assassinations on security officials in the country's restive south.

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with the Sanaa government since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political unrest that allowed the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to capture several cities in the south.

from XINHUA
2012-12-25 02:27:14
---

from DAWN:
by Raza Ali Sayeed

SANAA: Two suspected US drone strikes killed six al Qaeda militants in Yemen on Monday, including a Jordanian, government officials said.

The first “drone strike targeted a vehicle killing two al Qaeda members, a Yemeni and a Jordanian” in Manaseh of central Bayda province, a local government official said, requesting anonymity.

A security official identified one of the militants killed as Abdullah Hussein al-Waeli, an al Qaeda member from Marib province who was wanted after he escaped from prison two years ago. No details were given on the Jordanian.

Tribal sources said three other militants were wounded in the attack.

Three missiles fired at motorbikes in Hadramawt province killed four more al Qaeda militants, a local government official said.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the missiles were fired by “an American drone,” and that the attack took place in the centre of Shehr, a town east of the provincial capital Mukalla.

Al Qaeda had declared an Islamic emirate in nearby Radaa earlier this year, shortly before being driven out by tribal militiamen.

Tareq al-Dahab, who led the al Qaeda fighters in the January raid on the town, was shot dead in February.

Dahab was a brother-in-law of slain US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, who was killed in a suspected US drone strike in September.

US drones have backed Yemeni forces combating militants of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group’s Yemen branch, considered by Washington to be the most active and deadliest franchise of the global jihadi network.

AQAP took advantage of the weakness of Yemen’s central government during an uprising last year against now ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, seizing large swathes of territory across the south.

But after a month-long offensive launched in May by Yemeni troops, most militants fled to the more lawless desert regions of the east.

Related articles

• US drone strike kills Jordanian, Yemeni AQAP operatives (longwarjournal.org)
• 2 Al Qaeda militants reportedly killed in US airstrike in Yemen (foxnews.com)

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Explosion at military camp kills 5 soldiers in Yemen's Aden

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A remote-controlled bomb went off in a military camp in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday morning, killing five soldiers and wounding two others, a security official told Xinhua.

The blast occurred inside a military camp located on the northern outskirts of Aden, leaving at least five soldiers killed and two others injured, the local security official said, requesting anonymity.

"It appeared that an improvised-explosive device exploded at the military engineers camp. Experts of the anti-bomb disposal unit have arrived at the bombing site," the security official said.

The wounded have been sent to the Basuhib military hospital for treatment, he said.

However, an army officer told Xinhua anonymously saying that " the explosion was most likely caused by an accident. It happened when soldiers were moving hand grenades and landmines at an ammunition store at the camp."

A large fire was seen at the military camp for several minutes after the huge explosion and ambulances have rushed to the scene as police troops shut access to the area, according to local residents.

Yemen has undergone a political transition after the stepping down of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier this year under a peaceful transfer of power backed by the United Nations.

Restoring security in Yemen has become a priority after last year's unrest created security vacuum which was exploited by the insurgent al-Qaida wing to control swaths of remote land and expand activities to major cities.

from XINHUA
2012-10-22 15:44:52

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Yemen says kills deputy regional head of al Qaeda

(Credit: Reuters/Handout/Files)

(Reuters) - Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a man seen as the second-in-command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a government website said on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence website said Shehri was a Saudi national who was killed, along with six other militants, in any army operation in the remote Hadramout province in eastern Yemen. It gave no more details.

The United States has used unmanned drones to target AQAP, which has planned attacks on international targets including airliners and is described by Washington as the most dangerous wing of al Qaeda.

A Yemeni security source said Shehri was killed in an operation last Wednesday which was thought to have been carried out by a U.S. drone, rather than the Yemeni military. The source said another Saudi and an Iraqi national were among the others killed.

Shehri is a former inmate of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay who was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and put through a Saudi rehabilitation programme for militants.

Yemen's government is trying to re-establish order after an uprising pushed out veteran ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh in February, but faces threats from Islamist militants, southern secessionists and a Shi'ite rebel movement in the north.

The protests and factional fighting have allowed al Qaeda's regional wing to seize swathes of south Yemen, and Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels to carve out their own domain in the north.

The lawlessness has alarmed the United States and Yemen's much bigger neighbour Saudi Arabia, the top world oil exporter, which view the impoverished state as a new front line in their war on al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Washington, which has pursued a campaign of assassination by drone and missile against suspected al Qaeda members, backed a military offensive in May to recapture areas of Abyan province.

But militants have struck back with a series of bombings and assassinations.

from REUTERS
ADEN | Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:09pm BST
(Reporting by Dhuyazen Mukhashaf; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Alison Williams)

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2 al-Qaida terrorist cells busted in Yemen's Aden

ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni security forces dismantled two terrorist cells in the southern port city of Aden, foiling their attack plans on government compounds and military bases across the province, a police officer told Xinhua on Sunday.

Units of the counter-terrorism security forces managed to dismantle two terrorist cells affiliated with al-Qaida in Cerater neighborhood, in Aden, and detained five terrorists, the local police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Five al-Qaida members had been captured as they prepared terrorist attacks and suicide bombings on several government compounds as well as military bases in various places in Aden, the police officer said.

The two cells had carried out a number of gun raids and armed attacks against security forces and assassinated military officials in the city, he added.

The county's Defense Ministry said in a brief text message obtained by Xinhua that "two terrorist cells run by members of the Yemeni-based branch of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were successfully foiled in Aden."

Several intelligence and security members have been targeted in Aden and other major cities in a string of high-level assassinations since a U.S.-backed offensive drove al-Qaida militants out of their main strongholds in southern restive province of Abyan three months ago.

The United States have beefed up anti-terror cooperation with escalating numbers of drone strikes in particular, since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February after a year-long political upheaval that unseated former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

from XINHUA
2012-09-10 07:17:46

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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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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)

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Al-Qaida militants kill Yemeni intelligence officer in Sanaa

SANAA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Suspected al-Qaida gunmen shot dead a senior intelligence officer in an attack in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday, an interior ministry official said.

"Major Yehya Badi of the Political Security Agency was gunned down in Habra street in central Sanaa Thursday afternoon in an attack carried out by two masked al-Qaida gunmen on a motorcycle," the official, who led an investigation into the incident, told Xinhua.

"They fled the scene after Badi fell dead," he said on condition of anonymity, citing testimonies of eyewitnesses.

The attack came one day after a U.S. drone strike killed five al-Qaida operatives on a vehicle in a desert area in the Yemeni southeastern province of Hadramout.

Several intelligence and security members have been targeted in Sanaa and other major cities in a string of high-level assassinations since a U.S.-backed offensive drove al-Qaida militants out of their main strongholds in southern restive province of Abyan two months ago, where the militants had controlled for nearly a year during political turmoil that eventually forced the replacement of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh with his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The United States and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia have beefed up anti-terror cooperation since Hadi took office to help his administration overcome security challenges and combat resurgent branch of al-Qaida network in particular.


from XINHUA
2012-08-31 04:10:38

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At least 18 killed in Yemen attack on intelligence HQ

A man takes a photo of smoke rising from the site of an attack on the Political Security Agency building, the headquarters of the Yemeni intelligence services in the southern provinces, in the southern Yemeni city of Aden August 18, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Stringer

(Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda-linked militants killed at least 18 Yemeni soldiers and security guards on Saturday in a car bombing and grenade attack on the intelligence service headquarters in Aden, the Defence Ministry and witnesses said.
The ministry said more bodies were believed buried under the rubble of the building, part of which was levelled in the attack in the southern port city. At least seven others were wounded before the militants fled.

The United States has been pouring aid into Yemen to stem the threat of attacks from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and to try to prevent any spillover of violence into neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

Last year, a U.S.-backed offensive drove al Qaeda offshoot Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) from cities they had seized in an uprising against the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

But Islamist militants have carried out deadly suicide bombings on high-profile military and security targets since June, exposing the government's vulnerability.

In Saturday's attack, witnesses said militants had fired rocket-propelled grenades at the intelligence service's three-storey building, shattering windows and setting it on fire.

"The operation seemed to have been well planned," a local security source said. He said he believed the attackers belonged to al Qaeda.

He said the militants had stopped their vehicle in front of an adjacent five-storey television building, blown up a military vehicle guarding the compound, and then attacked the intelligence service building with automatic fire and rocket propelled grenades before fleeing.

The Defence Ministry said the militants had also detonated a car bomb next to the building, destroying part of it. Security sources put the death toll at 18.

The ministry earlier said all the casualties were members of the intelligence service and the Central Security forces, which guard the nearby television offices.

Ashraf Ali Ahmed, who lives in the area, said a loud explosion had shaken the area, followed by smaller blasts. "The blasts woke up the neighbourhood from their sleep," he said.

In July, militants attacked a police academy in Sanaa, assassinating the commander of the southern region, and trying to kill the commander of a tribal force allied with the army.

Washington has responded to the series of attacks by stepping up its drone strikes on AQAP, which was behind several failed attacks on the United States, including an attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.

(Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)

from REUTERS
By Mohammed Mukhashaf
ADEN | Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:02pm BST

Related articles

• Deadly attack on Yemen intelligence HQ (todayonline.com)

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4 killed, 15 injured in clashes between Republican Guards, Yemeni troops

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and 15 injured Tuesday in clashes between members of the Republican Guards and soldiers guarding the Yemeni defense ministry in the capital Sanaa, a medical source said.

The clashes erupted when members of the Republican Guards, led by the son of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were protesting near the defense ministry against a recent military reorganization ordered by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Casualties were reported from both sides, and the killed include a woman and a children, the source said.

"About 250 soldiers of the elite Republican Guard forces protesting over military restructure tried to attack the defense ministry with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades," a government official told Xinhua.

"Just few hours after the clashes, police reinforcements were deployed around the ministry headquarters... Situation (is) now under control," he added.

About 40 protesters were arrested for trying to storm the ministry building, a military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"All roads leading to the ministry are completely blocked... Gunshots and clashes (are) raging out across Sanaa," a witness near the scene told Xinhua anonymously.

The armed clashes came a week after the current president, Hadi, issued a republican decree to restructure the army forces, including reducing the number of units under the command of Saleh' s son, and replacing several relative and loyalists to the former president.

Restructuring the armed forces remains a priority of Hadi, who seeks to ensure a successful political reconciliation and pave the way for a national dialogue expected in November to end disputes among all political forces, in order to focus efforts on fighting al-Qaida branch in the country.


from XINHUA
2012-08-15 01:58:10

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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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11 soldiers killed in clashes at Yemen's interior ministry

SANAA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 security soldiers were killed and dozens of others were wounded during heavy clashes between security forces and gunmen belonging to the defected army at the Yemeni interior ministry on Tuesday morning, police sources and medics said.

"A total of 11 soldiers' bodies have been brought to the police hospital and dozens of others were receiving treatment," doctors at the hospital told Xinhua.

"There is no information about casualties among the defected military forces so far," one of the doctors said.

Police officials said the clashes erupted after troops of the defected First Armored Division and gunmen loyal to opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar in security uniforms entered the headquarters of the interior ministry late Monday.

"A large number of troops from the defected army and militants loyal to al-Ahmar attacked the security soldiers guarding the building of the ministry, and they then set up several barricades around the scene," a police official at the ministry told Xinhua by phone.

"The government forces in the nearby security camp tried to protect the ministry and drove those militants away... but the defected troops opened fire on the security soldiers. Severe clashes have continued for more than 10 hours," he said on condition of anonymity.

"The defected soldiers claimed that they received orders from the defected general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to enter the ministry in order to protect it," he added.

All roads leading to the clash area were blocked by the rescue police forces and armed tribesmen led by Sadiq al-Ahmar. According to witnesses, militants loyal to al-Ahmar have been deployed around the interior ministry.

Several ambulances carrying injured soldiers were seen coming out from the clash zone and a nearby security camp, which is responsible for guarding the ministry.

Meanwhile, about eight armored vehicles from the central security forces were seen heading to the interior ministry, while the sound of heavy machine guns was still rocking the area.

According to witnesses, both the rival forces sent reinforcement to the area after clashes intensified and spread Tuesday afternoon to neighborhoods close to the U.S. embassy in eastern the capital.

This is the worst clashes since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February. Sanaa has witnessed a month- long street battles between the defected army backed by militants of Sadiq al-Ahmar and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh before Saleh handed over power to Hadi after the presidential election.

Hadi has vowed to reunify the army, restore security and launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions to focus efforts on combating the Yemen-based al-Qaida network.

---
from REUTERS:

Eight killed in clashes near Yemen Interior Ministry 

(Reuters) - Eight people were killed in clashes between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who were trying to storm the Interior Ministry in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, a medical source said.

The source said a "large number" of people were also wounded in the fighting. It was not clear whether those killed were soldiers or tribesmen.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Isabel Coles)
SANAA | Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:40am BST

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Qirbi says Yemeni forces regained control of al-Qaeda strongholds

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

The Yemeni forces were able to regain control of al-Qaeda’s strongholds in southern Yemen and other regions, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Al Arabiya on Thursday.

“The Yemeni police and army forces were able to kick al-Qaeda militants from the regions that they used to control. They have fled to some mountainous areas,” he Qirbi said.

“It is not over yet. Our forces will continue to chase those operatives,” he told Al Arabiya on the sidelines of an anti-piracy conference in Dubai.

Meanwhile, he told Reuters in separate statements that some al-Qaeda-linked militants may have fled to neighboring states, including Oman, after being driven out of their strongholds in cities in southern Yemen.

Many had fled to mountainous parts of southern Yemen, while others could have fled to neighboring countries using land and sea routes. “There are reports that some of the militants went to Oman, which hasn't been formally confirmed to us.”

“The security services are coordinating with neighboring countries because the militants don’t only pose danger to Yemen but also to other countries.”

Any infiltration into Oman, which sits on one side of the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one third of the world's seaborne oil exports, would raise fears of al-Qaeda setting up a new base in a region of strategic importance.

Yemeni security sources had already suggested some al-Qaeda members may have crossed into Oman, a relatively stable Arab monarchy bordering both Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants, emboldened by waning government control over the country during last year's protests that ousted former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, had seized several southern cities during the turmoil.

In May, the Yemeni army launched a large-scale U.S.-backed offensive against al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate, Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law). The army drove out the militants from their main strongholds this month and regained control of several cities in the country’s south.

But Qirbi said Yemen’s fight against al-Qaeda was far from over. “The task has not finished yet; the security forces still have to chase militants to their hideouts,” he said. “The terrorist elements are on the run, but it’s hard to tell when will we uproot al-Qaeda.”

Qirbi said that fighting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), believed to be the most active branch of the global network which has plotted a number of botched attempts against U.S. targets, needed a multifaceted approach.

“If you look at the experiences of other countries from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia and the United States, uprooting terrorism and extremism is complicated...it can't be dealt with only by military means,” he said.

He said his government would need to track down the sources of funding, identify Islamic clerics who propagated extremist views and create jobs for the country's young population.

“All these measures take time before they bear fruit,” he said.

U.S. officials say that President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi -- who came to power in February as part of a power-transfer deal brokered by the United States and Gulf states -- is more cooperative in the fight against al-Qaeda than his predecessor.

Analysts have suggested that Saleh deliberately gave al-Qaeda free rein in the south during protests against his 33 years in office in a cynical but failed attempt to convince Washington he should remain in power to deal with the threat.

The Yemeni foreign minister said that many of the militants fighting with Ansar al-Sharia were foreigners. Yemeni officials have repeatedly identified Somali fighters among the casualties of their offensive against militants.

By Al Arabiya with Reuters
Friday, 29 June 2012

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Al-Qaida assassinates senior official in Yemeni capital

SANAA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Al-Qaida gunmen assassinated a senior Yemeni official in the capital of Sanaa, an official of the Interior Ministry told Xinhua on Saturday.

"Two al-Qaida gunmen on a motorbike intercepted the convoy of Sheikh Abdulrahem al-Humaikani on Friday afternoon on Khulan Street in the southern neighborhood of the location of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. Al-Humaikani was killed and several of his bodyguards were injured," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Sheikh al-Humaikani, a senior member of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh's party, was a high-ranking security official and a member of the local council in the southeastern province of al- Bayda, where al-Qaida militants have strong presence.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi described the incident as a "terrorist act" in a letter of condolence to al-Humaikani's family, which was carried by the Defense Ministry's website.

The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) seized parts of al-Bayda's largest city of Radda, some 170 km southeast of Sanaa, in mid- January, but they left the town after reaching a deal with the central government.

Last month, a U.S. drone strike raided a convoy of al-Qaida local leaders in al-Bayda while they were travelling across Radda city. The al-Qaida leaders survived the airstrike but three of their bodyguards were killed.

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At least 22 militants killed in Yemeni fighting

(Reuters) - At least 22 Islamist militants were killed in overnight clashes and an air strike in southern Yemen, where government troops are fighting rebels linked to al Qaeda, a local official and residents said on Sunday.
Around 15 of the dead were killed in fighting north of the militant stronghold of Jaar, a town in Abyan province that has been controlled by the militants since last year.

The al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) exploited last year's popular protests against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to capture swathes of territory in Abyan, including the provincial capital Zinjibar.

The expansion of the militants' area of control has unsettled the United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of failed attacks by Yemen's al Qaeda wing (AQAP), which this week claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital Sanaa that killed more than 100 soldiers.

This month the government began a counter-offensive against Ansar al-Sharia with U.S. help.

A military official said the army had managed to recapture key positions in Zinjibar, where at least 63 militants were killed on Saturday in heavy fighting, many of them Somalis.

The bodies of seven militants were seen on Sunday being carried away from a factory located west of Jaar, which is used by Ansar al-Sharia as a base, after it was attacked by a Yemeni warplane on Saturday night.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have been pushing Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who took over after Saleh stepped down in February, to unite the army and roll back the militants' gains.

Washington considers Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group's Yemeni wing which has attracted fighters from Somalia and Saudi Arabia, as its most active cell.

American intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say their ability to conduct operations against AQAP inside Yemen, notably with drone strikes, has improved significantly since Hadi took office.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Yemen's army says recaptured rebel positions

(Reuters) - The Yemeni army battled al Qaeda-linked militants deep inside Zinjibar on Saturday, recapturing key positions inside the southern rebel-held city and killing at least 62 Islamist fighters, including Somalis, a military official said.

The official said three government soldiers died and four were wounded in the fighting, part of an offensive that began earlier this month to uproot Islamist militants from southern Yemen.

He said many of the dead militants were Somalis, but gave no precise figures.

Al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law)have exploited last year's popular protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-years in office and captured large swathes of territory in the province of Abyan, including the provincial capital Zinjibar.

The expansion of the militants' area of control has unsettled the United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of failed attacks by Yemen's al Qaeda wing which earlier this week claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Sanaa on Monday that killed more than 100 soldiers.

Both countries have been pushing new Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who took over after Saleh stepped down in February, to unite the army and roll back the militants' gains.

Washington considers Qaeda in Yemen, which has attracted foreign fighters from places like Somalia and Saudi Arabia, the world's most active terror cell.

Yemeni forces last week recaptured parts of the strategic city of Zinjibar and fought militants in the city of Jaar, another militant stronghold, leaving 33 militants and nine soldiers dead.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Sophie Hares)

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Car bomb blast kills 12 in northern Yemen

A suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden car killed at least 12 people and injured many more 

Sana'a: A suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden car killed at least 12 people and injured many more on Friday in Shia-held province of Jawaf, northern Yemen, hours after another suicide bomber failed to reach a Shiite protest in the same province, ministry of defense said.

The news website of the ministry reported that a woman and child were among the dead as the suicide bomber targeted a rally of Shiite rebels in the province bomber.

Earlier on Friday, a man wearing IED belt killed himself after failing to detonate himself inside the same protest, Huthi a rebels who control many province in the north of the country said.

In statement, the rebels said that a brainwashed suicide bomber sent by the US and Israel blew himself up in protest in order to stop them protesting against the "policies of injustice and tyranny."

The rebels protests was part of nation-wide protests that forced the former Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave office in November last year.

from GulfNews
By Saeed Al Batati, Correspondent

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Yemen army kills 13 Islamists in south

Yemen(Reuters) - At least 13 Islamist fighters linked to al Qaeda were killed in clashes with Yemen's army in the impoverished country's south on Thursday, the government and militants said.

Yemen has launched an offensive against Islamist insurgents in the territory who have taken advantage of the chaos surrounding more than a year of mass protests and fighting that unseated former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

At least seven militants were killed near the southern Yemeni city of Lawdar on Thursday, the defense ministry's news service reported in a text message. Four of the members of the Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) group were Somalis, it added.

Six militants were also killed in clashes with the Yemeni army in the southern city of Zinjibar, a spokesman for Ansar al-Sharia told Reuters. An army official said two soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the clashes.

More than 200 people have been killed since government forces stepped up attacks on the militants whom it accused of assaulting a military camp near Lawdar last week.

Islamist insurgents have already taken control of a number of cities in the southern territory which is close to key shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

The interior ministry said it had received unconfirmed reports of a plot by al Qaeda suicide bombers to attack gas facilities in Belhaf in the southern Shabwa province and security forces were on the alert.

Yemen's oil and gas pipelines have been repeatedly sabotaged since last year's anti-government protests created a power vacuum in parts of the country. Yemen's government has regularly reported al Qaeda plots to launch further attacks, but it has not been possible to confirm the reports independently.

France's Total gas pipeline to Balhaf was last blown up in March, hours after a U.S. drone attack killed at least five militants.

The ministry added Yemen had tightened security around the Saudi embassy in Sanaa after an al Qaeda-linked militant claimed responsibility for last month's kidnapping of a senior Saudi diplomat.

Yemen's new president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took office vowing to fight al Qaeda, is also facing challenges from Shi'ite Muslim rebels in the north and secessionists in the south.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; Writing by Mahmoud Habboush and Rania El Gamal; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Main Yemen airport closed ‘after threat by military’

SANAA: The airport in Yemen’s capital was shut down on Saturday after forces loyal to a general close to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh threatened to attack landing and departing aircraft, an airport source said.



from dawn.com

The airport has been surrounded by forces loyal to air force chief General Mohammed Saleh
al-Ahmar, Saleh’s half brother, who has refused to step down after being sacked by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the source said.

“No aircraft has taken off or landed since these forces made their threat late on Friday,” the source said, adding that the troops surrounding the airport were backed by members of the Hamdan tribe that supports former strongman Saleh.

These men were led by Naji Jamaan, a Hamdan tribal chief, the source added.

Ahmar has refused to step aside unless several senior defense ministry officials, including the minister himself, also leave, a military source said on Saturday.

In a message to his troops, Ahmar said that Hadi’s presidential decree would not be “implemented” until Defence Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and chief of staff Ali al-Ashwal left their posts.

He also demanded that several members of the powerful Hashed tribe be forced into exile. The tribe backed defectors such as General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar during last year’s anti-regime protests.

On Friday, Hadi sacked the air force chief and the head of the presidential guard General Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh – the former president’s nephew.

There had already been calls from within the air force for Ahmar to go.

The military source said Saleh had turned down the command of the 37th battalion of the Republican Guard based in the southeast province of Hadramawt.

President Hadi took over from Saleh in February after the veteran leader, who had ruled for 33 years, handed over power as part of a Gulf-brokered settlement to end a bloody government crackdown on an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.

In a televised speech on February 19, Hadi stressed the need to reunify the army as he pledged “radical reforms” and to fight Al Qaeda as he outlined a two-year transition plan.
But critics of Saleh say he has been interfering in the smooth transition of power, and the reorganisation of the army is seen as being a key part of that transition.

from dawn.com

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• Main Yemen airport closed 'after threat by military' (dawn.com)

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Militants kill American teacher in Yemen

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(Reuters) - Two men on a motorcycle shot and killed an American teacher in the Yemeni city of Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, on Sunday morning, a local police source said.

A gunman riding on the motorcycle driven by an accomplice shot the man, an English-language teacher and deputy director of a local language school called the Swedish Institute, the source said.

He said the gunmen, who escaped after the attack, were believed to be militants linked to al Qaeda.
Yemen has seen an escalation of violence by the Islamist militant network since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office last month vowing to fight al Qaeda's regional wing.

Yemen's commercial hub of Taiz, located some 200 km (120 miles) south of Sanaa, was a flashpoint for protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33 year rule, and where many foreigners in Yemen live and work.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Michael Roddy)


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ADEN, Yemen, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing said Sunday that it had killed a U.S. English-language teacher in the southern city of Taiz.

"Killing the American teacher by our members is an obvious message to the United States to stop interfering in Yemen's internal affairs. This was a retaliatory attack for killing dozens of our fighters by the American jets," the al-Qaida said in a text message received by Xinhua, which did not mention further details.

Earlier in the day, a security official told Xinhua anonymously that two gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead U.S. national working at an English-language institute in downtown Taiz.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website that "security forces were hunting for suspected al- Qaida gunmen who killed the American national in the neighborhoods of Taiz."

On Friday a local security official said suspected al-Qaida gunmen abducted a Swiss woman working as language teacher in the western province of Hodeida and then moved her to restive Shabwa province.

Foreigners were frequently kidnapped in Yemen as tribesmen in the lawless areas often resort to such acts to force the government to meet their demands. Most of the abducted foreigners were finally released unharmed.

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Officials: Yemen forces target militant hideouts, killing 36

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(CNN) -- Yemeni air forces targeted militant hideouts in the south, killing at least 18 suspected al Qaeda insurgents, security officials said Saturday.

In a separate action, 18 additional militants were killed in airstrikes, officials said.

The first airstrikes occurred in the Yemen province of al-Baitha in areas used as launching pads for militant attacks, the officials said.

"Al Qaeda is trying to build a stronghold in al-Baitha and it is in the beginning stages. We are trying to eliminate their presence while it is still possible and easy," one of the officials said.

Both officials did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Smoke from the air raids covered the skies of al-Baitha hours after the attack. Security forces also formed new checkpoints in nearby districts.

Residents said military aircraft roam the skies of the province around the clock.

In a separate action, the air force carried out five airstrikes in the towns of Jaar and Zinjibar in Abyan province, killing 18 suspected Ansar al-Sharia militants, Yemeni security officials toldf CNN.

The attacks targeted caches of weapons and equipment seized by the militants earlier this week, the officials said.

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• Officials: Yemen forces target militant hideouts, killing 18 - CNN (edition.cnn.com)

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