Yemeni Militants Demand Ransom for Missing Aid Workers

Sana'a, July 27, 2011- Al-Qaida-linked militants in Yemen are demanding a $12 million ransom for the release of three French aid workers who went missing in May.

Yemeni security officials and tribesmen revealed the demand on Wednesday.

The two women and one man disappeared in the eastern city of Sayoun, where they had been working with a French-based relief agency.

French and Yemen authorities previously said the aid workers were probably kidnapped but had no definite word on their status.

The reports of a ransom demand come a day after the head of al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen vowed loyalty to Osama bin Laden's successor and promised to keep fighting against Sana'a's Western-allied government.

In a 10-minute audio message posted on Islamist websites Tuesday, Nasser al-Wahishi said his organization officially recognizes Ayman al-Zawahiri as al-Qaida's new global leader.

The terror group proclaimed the 60-year-old Egyptian its chieftain following bin Laden's death in a U.S. military raid on his Pakistani compound in May.

Wahishi said al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula will fight until it overthrows the government of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

He also said he supports the anti-government protests in Yemen that seek to oust Mr. Saleh after 33 years in power.

The United States says the Yemeni branch is al-Qaida's most active. The group has been linked to several attempted attacks on U.S. targets.

Washington fears al-Qaida-linked militants will take advantage of Yemen's anti-government unrest to expand their haven in the country and plot attacks against the West.

Kuwait Halts Yemeni Entries for Security Reasons, Al-Qabas Says

By Dahlia Kholaif - Jul 27, 2011

Kuwait decided for security purposes to halt the paperwork of Yemenis seeking to visit the Persian Gulf state, Al-Qabas reported, citing an unidentified security official.

The decision is temporary pending the restoration of stability in Yemen, the newspaper said. Kuwait imposed earlier bans on the entry of Syrians, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Iranians and Afghans, according to Al-Qabas.

No Political Crisis in Yemen, It Is Suffering from Collapse of State – UN Envoy

There is not a political crisis in Yemen, rather the current situation is threatening security and peace at regional and international levels, said Jamal bin Omar, the special envoy of the UN Secretary General to Yemen following his recent visit.

New Yemen quoted bin Omar saying that Yemen, however, is suffering from the collapse of state and that no external country or party can come to it to straighten out the situation or say what is happening there is a Yemeni matter.

The remarks followed a few-day visit to Yemen during which he met with government and opposition officials in an effort to reconcile the political parties and help them work together to lift their country out of the current problems.

He said that his visit was positive as he found all Yemeni parties very interested in reaching a solution to the problems in Yemen.

Yemen has been crippled by month-long unrest that has largely affected the national economy, led to severe crises topped by acute shortages and associated price hikes and triggered concerns about its future.

Yemen: AQAP pledges loyalty to bin Laden successor

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — July 26, 2011- The leader of al-Qaida's Yemeni offshoot on Tuesday pledged his group's allegiance to Osama bin Laden's successor, and vowed to continue the fight against corrupt Western-backed leaders.

In a 10-minute audio message posted on extremist websites, Nasser al-Wahishi said his group — al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula — recognizes Egyptian-born doctor Ayman al-Zawahri as the new chief of al-Qaida. Al-Zawahri took over command of al-Qaida following the death of bin Laden in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May.

Al-Qaida-linked militants have taken advantage of the political turmoil engulfing Yemen to seize control of at least two towns and surrounding territory in the country's south, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee the area as government forces carry out airstrikes and a ground offensive to regain control.

"My soldiers and those soldiers with me in the Arab gulf... will not give up nor give in until Islam is ruling by God's will and strength," al-Wahishi said.

With an estimated 300 members, the United States says it is al-Qaida's most active branch. The group was linked to several attempted attacks on U.S. targets, including a plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009 and parcel bombs placed on cargo flights last year.

The U.S. fears al-Qaida-linked militants will take advantage of the unrest in Yemen to expand its haven in the country and plot attacks against the West. Washington has stepped up efforts to combat AQAP, using drones to target militants in Yemen's rugged provinces.

Al-Wahishi condemned US drone attacks on Yemen, which have killed civilians, and the "silence" of Yemen's leaders to these attacks.

"Our war against the Zionist Crusaders remains, for they have chosen this war," he said.

He said he supports the roughly six months of protests in Yemen seeking to oust embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh after 33 years in power.

Speaking more broadly of the uprisings sweeping across the Arab world, he said they have "toppled regimes and blown America's dreams to the winds."

"It has given Muslims a natural chance to rid themselves of the West's cross — its plots and its plans— to chisel its own course for a return to the glory days," he added.

The al-Qaida leader also criticized the rulers of neighboring Saudi Arabia.

He said they turned the country — home to Islam's holiest site in Mecca — into a safe haven for tyrants, referring to the former Tunisian president who took refuge there after being ousted during a popular uprising in January, as well as the Yemeni president who is recuperating there after an attack on his presidential compound in June.

The audio was released a day after a top al-Qaida commander, Ali Said Jameel, was killed along with 17 other militants by government forces in southern Yemen, according to Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Sawmali.

Tribal leaders close to Jameel's family confirmed his death.

Jameel was on a list of wanted al-Qaida leaders.

Militants Pushed Back in Southern Yemen

By NASSER ARRABYEE

July 25, 2011

SANA, Yemen — Fighting in southern Yemen has intensified in recent days as tribesmen in Abyan Province sided with government troops against Islamic militants.

Local residents said that the militants remain only in pockets of the Abyan capital, Zinjibar, and that it was largely under the control of government troops and the tribesmen, who closed entrances of the city four days ago.

The tribesmen were driven to overcome their deep suspicion of the central government after the fighting between militants and government forces pushed an estimated 90,000 people from their homes.

Dozens of militants have been reported killed since the fighting began in March, including some foreign fighters. The Yemeni authorities identified a suicide bomber who struck a convoy of military vehicles on Sunday as a Saudi named Turki Saad al-Sharani. The Ministry of Defense said the convoy was carrying reinforcements to Zinjibar.

The militants in Zinjibar call themselves Ansar Shariah, or supporters of Islamic law. It is not clear how closely allied the militants are with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group the United States holds to be a significant threat.

Ayed al-Shabwani, a militant leader in the eastern province of Marib, was buried in his home village of Al Bayda on July 20 after he was killed in Zinjibar, according to relatives and friends who witnessed his funeral and burial.

Musab Mabkhoot al-Sharif, the son of a leader of an opposition Islamic party, was also killed in Zinjibar and buried in Marib two weeks ago.