8 Al-Qaida Militants Killed in Southern Yemen

May 3, 2012

The Yemeni army killed at least eight al-Qaida militants in a battle in the southern province of Abyan on Thursday, the defense ministry said.

The 39th Armored Army Brigade repulsed an armed attack by al- Qaida terrorist group in Bajdar neighborhood near Abyan's provincial capital Zinjibar, killing at least eight terrorists and injuring several others, the ministry reported in a brief statement posted on its website.

"The army troops managed to foil an al-Qaida attack against a military post positioned on the outskirts of Zinjibar," the statement said.

Meanwhile, a tribal chief told Xinhua anonymously that 12 al- Qaida militants were killed on Thursday evening in clashes with tribal fighters near the Lauder town in Abyan.

Hundreds of soldiers and insurgents have been killed since last month in Lauder and Mudiyah towns in Abyan during ongoing battles between the Yemeni army and al-Qaida militants.

Taking advantage of the one-year-long political conflicts in Yemen, resurgent Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), locally known as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), has taken control of several cities and swathes of land across the restive southern provinces.

The AQAP, 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 its national security.

Yemenis take to the streets, demand purge of ex-leader's loyalists

The Associated Press

May 3, 2012

Tens of thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets to demand that members of the country's former regime be purged from top military posts.

Rallies organized by youth groups were held Thursday in the capital Sanaa and several other cities.

Some protesters carried banners urging Yemen's new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, to “purge the army of family members” of his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

After a year of uprising and turmoil, Mr. Saleh handed power to Mr. Hadi in February but several of his loyalists and relatives are hanging on to key military posts and refusing to step down.

Among them is Mr. Saleh's nephew Tarek Mohammed, who commands the elite Republican Guard. U.N. envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has been negotiating to get the nephew to step down.

Al-Qaeda magazine back, calls for firebombs in US

May 3, 2012

Al-Qaeda’s English-language magazine has reappeared months after its founders were killed in a US missile strike, with calls for firebomb campaigns in the United States and chemical weapons attacks.

Defiantly boasting that it was “still publishing America’s worst nightmare,” Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen released the eighth and ninth issue of the “Inspire” magazine, which first appeared online in July 2010.

The issues eulogized as “martyrs” the two Al-Qaeda figures who helped launch the publication, and then were killed in a US drone strike in September: radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American.

 “To the disappointment of our enemies, issue nine of Inspire magazine is out against all odds,” an unsigned editorial note said. “Inspire is and will be an effective tool regardless of who is in charge of it.”

In addition to specials on “Samir Khan: The Face of Joy” and “My Story with Al-Awlaki,” the issue provides detailed instructions on how to ignite an “ember bomb” in the United States.

It suggested that the western state of Montana, with its rapid population growth in wooded areas, was a particularly auspicious place to set huge forest fires.

 “In America, there are more houses built in the (countryside) than in the cities,” read the article signed by “The AQ Chef.”

 “It is difficult to choose a better place other than in the valleys of Montana where the population increases rapidly.”

In the eighth issue, Awlaki speaks from the grave with an article entitled “Targeting the Populations of Countries that are at War with the Muslims” — explaining that weapons of mass destruction can and should be used.

 “The use of poisons or chemical and biological weapons against population centers is allowed and is strongly recommended due to its great effect on the enemy,” the article read, listing the US, Britain and France as top targets.

The US-based IntelCenter, commenting on the release of the two issues, said Awlaki’s article served as a “clear reminder” that groups linked to Al-Qaeda see such attacks as permissible and greatly important.

 “Even though al-Awlaki is no longer alive, his unmatched ability to inspire attacks will continue through his writings and statements, especially with new releases such as this,” it said.

The issue also includes an eight-page special on how to remotely detonate a bomb, along with necessary parts and detailed step-by-step photographs, and advice on training with a handgun.

Yet for all the fanfare, both issues are riddled with spelling errors and clumsy English. An ad in the eighth issue asks for “persons who can help the Inspire team with research & translation.”

Al-Qaeda providing free electricity in Yemen

May 03, 2012 |

Sana'a- The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has started offering free electricity and gas to villagers in Yemen's restive southern region, according to a Saudi daily.

The al-Sharq al-Awsat daily said the Al Qaeda has gained control of swathes of the southern provinces of Abyen and Lahaj and Shabwa, and was reportedly offering essential services the central government was failing to provide.

In Jaar town, the militants are also said to be offering water, and have abolished all taxes imposed by Sana'a.

Militants on armoured vehicles have reportedly surrounded Azzan, in Shabwa, where the AQAP's regional commander Anwar al-Awlaki's son was killed in a drone strike in October 2011.

According to the treport, largely unopposed, the militants have filled a power vacuum left by more than a year of unrest in the impoverished state. Huge demonstrations against long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh eventually led to his resignation in February and subsequent elections.

According to the treport, largely unopposed, the militants have filled a power vacuum left by more than a year of unrest in the impoverished state. Huge demonstrations against long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh eventually led to his resignation in February and subsequent elections.

The AQAP was formed in January 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of the international Islamist militant network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The US president's counter-terrorism adviser has called it 'the most active operational franchise' of the Al Qaeda beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan.