Tuesday, June 19, 2012

President Hadi appoints commander of the Southern region


By Yemen 24 News
SANA'A, June 19, 2012- President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi issued a presidential decree No.53 for 2012 appointing Dr. Brigadier General Naser abdrabuh al-Taheri as a Commander of the southern region, Commander of 31st armored Brigade.
The decision came one day after the killing of Maj. Gen. Salem Ali Qatan in the southern port city of Aden by a suicide bomber believed to by suspected al-Qaeda militant.

Yemen: Retreating al-Qaida takes revenge


SANAA, Yemen, June 19 (UPI) -- The assassination of one of Yemen's top military commanders, presumably by al-Qaida in retaliation for a government offensive, suggests the organization is far from crushed despite growing U.S. involvement in the conflict.
And there's another ominous sign: the suicide bomber who killed Maj. Gen. Mohammed Salem Ali Qatan in the southern port city of Aden Monday was reported to be a Somali.
If that is the case, it suggests that the al-Shabaab Islamist group in Somalia may have a tighter relationship with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the jihadist group in Yemen, than was previously thought.
U.S. intelligence has been claiming for some months that there have been moves by the two groups, separated by the Gulf of Aden, to join forces. Their apparent aim is to control southern Yemen to dominate the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the oil artery that links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Yemen foils plot to attack foreign embassies


SANAA | Tue Jun 19, 2012
 (Reuters) - Yemen has foiled a plot to attack foreign embassies in the capital Sanaa, a police source said on Tuesday, days after the army drove al Qaeda-linked militants from their strongholds in the south of the country.
The source said police in Sanaa had stopped a vehicle carrying three people who had weapons, explosives and maps with foreign embassies and the homes of military and civilian figures marked out.
"The preliminary investigations showed that the group was planning to target foreign interests," said the source.
Yemeni troops last week regained control of several towns in the southern province of Abyan, which Islamist militants had seized last year during political upheaval that eventually toppled former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
But the assassination of a top southern military commander in the port city of Aden on Monday showed the militants are still capable of carrying out attacks and highlighted the tenuous grip of Yemen's central authorities on the restive south.
Militant group Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) threatened to spread the fight across Yemen after it was forced out of Abyan. The Interior Ministry said it had beefed up security in response.
The United States is increasingly concerned about the apparent strength of militancy in Yemen and has backed the Yemeni army with training, intelligence and increased aid. It has also used unmanned drones to target and kill suspected members of al Qaeda.
In May, a rogue soldier recruited by al Qaeda blew himself up in the middle of a military parade rehearsal in Sanaa, killing nearly 100 people.