Pakistan deports bin Laden family to Saudi Arabia

April 27, 2012

ISLAMABAD —Pakistani authorities deported Osama bin Laden's three widows and his children to Saudi Arabia early Friday, less than a week before the first anniversary of the unilateral American raid that killed the al-Qaida leader in his hideout in a military town.

The departure of the family closed another chapter in an affair that cemented Pakistan's reputation as a hub of Islamist extremism and cast doubt on its trustworthiness as a Western ally.

Once outside Pakistan, the wives may be willing to share any information they have about how bin Laden managed to evade capture in the country for nearly a decade following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

The U.S. commandos took bin Laden's body, which they later buried at sea, but left his family behind. His wives and children were detained by Pakistani authorities immediately after the pre-dawn raid on May 2, 2011.

Two of the widows are from Saudi Arabia, and the third is from Yemen.

They were interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agents and eventually charged last month with illegally entering and living in the country. The three wives and two adult daughters were convicted and sentenced to 45 days in prison. Their prison term, which was spent at a well-guarded house in Islamabad, ended earlier this month.

Soon after midnight Thursday, a van took the women and children from the house in the center of the capital, Islamabad, en route to the airport. Officials covered the vehicle with sheets to prevent photographers from taking their pictures.

A statement from the Interior Ministry said 14 members of the bin Laden family had been deported to the "country of their choice, Saudi Arabia." Few details have been released about the family, but officials have said bin Laden had three wives, at least eight children and some grandchildren living with him in the house when it was raided by the Americans.

The Pakistani government has denied knowing the terrorist leader's whereabouts. U.S. officials say they have no evidence senior Pakistani officials knew bin Laden was in Abbottabad, but questions remain. A Pakistani government commission formed to investigate how bin Laden lived in the country and the circumstances of the American raid has yet to publish its report, but it is widely expected to be a whitewash.

Soon after the raid, American investigators were given access to the wives in Pakistani custody, but one Pakistani intelligence officer has said the women refused to answer their questions.

The Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada, told Pakistani police that the al-Qaida chief lived in five houses while on the run in Pakistan for nine years and fathered four children, two of whom were born in Pakistani government hospitals.

Saudi officials have given little information about the family and the plan to deport them. The country stripped bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994 because of his verbal attacks against the Saudi royal family, and there have been questions about whether the country would accept the women.

Pakistani officials were outraged that the U.S. did not tell them about the operation against bin Laden until after it happened — a decision American officials explained by saying they were worried the information would be leaked. Relations between the two countries plummeted after the raid and have yet to recover.

Besides facing difficult questions about how bin Laden was able to hide in the country for so long, Pakistan's army faced unusual domestic criticism because it was unable to stop the American raid from taking place, or even detect it while it was under way.

Last November, U.S. airstrikes inadvertently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border, dealing another blow to ties still strained from the bin Laden raid. Washington, which needs Pakistani cooperation against al-Qaida and in trying to end the Afghan war, is trying to rebuild the relationship.

Angry Yemenis feel ignored

Chiara Onassis | 27 April 2012

SANA’A: In the midst of much political maneuvering and the announcement of yet presidential decrees to come, many Yemenis feel somewhat cheated.

As many told Bikyamasr.com, although they did wanted a change of regime and the departure of President Alia Abdullah Saleh from power, they are worry that by getting rid of one dictator they are inviting another in.

And indeed the more Saleh and the General People’s Congress, aka the ruling party are being pushed on the sideline politically, the more powerful al-Islah, Yemen Islamic faction, which is led by al-Ahmar family is gaining in strength.

Al-Ahmar family who for year had had its eyes on the presidential chair stood last year behind most of the protests, directing and organizing the political opposition as well as the Youth movement.

 “True we don’t like Saleh much but we don’t want leaders who have ties with al-Qaeda to control the country either. Right now we feel as if it is Saleh or al-Ahmar, and frankly, Saleh is much better,” said Ali Manghery, an accountant and member of the Independent Youth.

Worries are growing in Yemen as some recent ministerial decisions marked a shift in favor of al-Islah which do not in the least coincide with people wishes for reforms. For example, while millions are at food risk, the Finance Minister just agreed to release $5 million to the construction of a Mosque within the ground of al-Eman University, an institution who belongs to Sheikh al-Zindani, a wanted terrorist and al-Islah member.

 “As you can see al-Islah cares little for the people of Yemen,” said Ali.

Al-Qaeda attacks gas exporting pipeline in Yemen

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, April 27, 2012- According to security and military officials, al-Qaeda militants blew up on Thursday night a gas exporting pipeline in Yemen's southeast province of Shabwa.

The sources reported that the pipeline transferring liquefied natural gas from Yemen's Mareb province to Belhaf terminal was bombed in al-Akla district of Shabwa province, stopping the country's export of gas.

''Huge fire and heavy smoke have been seen from Atak district'' the sources added.

Thursday's attack is the second in less than a month in the southern province of Shabwa.

Meanwhile, Yemeni airstrike hit on Thursday al-Qaeda hideouts in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, killing three militants.

The attack took place in Modia district, killing at least three al-Qaeda militants. No more details were reported.

Dengue Fever plagues Yemen

Chiara Onassis | 26 April 2012

SANA’A: Local sources told Bikyamasr.com this Thursday that 67 cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in the western Yemen province of Hodeida, blaming widespread poverty and poor sanitation for the outbreak.

As a result, the government decided to form a committee, which will be headed by the Health Minister and Population, Ahmed Qasam al-Ansi, whose ministry stated in a press release would work at eradicating the threat.

Preliminary investigations confirmed that indeed all patients were suffering from Dengue Fever.

Dengue fever is a virus-caused disease that is spread by mosquitoes.

It is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is found in tropic and sub-tropic regions.

The condition generally lasts a week or more.

Although uncomfortable, Dengue Fever is not deadly.

People with the condition should fully recover.

However malnutrition and a weakened immune system could prove deadly when combined to the virus, which is why the ministry is keen to tackle the issue as quickly as possible.

Dr. Shaef Ezzi Sageer said that the Heath Minister was looking into ways to eradicate the spread of the disease through the intensification of activities of epidemiological surveillance, registration and treatment of the cases, sending outreach teams to the areas in which the cases were registered in order to supervise on the medical process.

White House approves broader Yemen drone campaign

April 26, 2012

By Greg Miller, The Washington Post

The United States has begun launching drone strikes against suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen under new authority approved by President Obama that allows the CIA and the military to fire even when the identity of those who could be killed is not known, U.S. officials said.

The policy shift marks a significant expansion of the clandestine drone war against an al-Qaeda affiliate that has seized large ­pieces of territory in Yemen and is linked to a series of terrorist plots against the United States.

U.S. officials said that Obama approved the use of “signature” strikes this month and that the killing of an al-Qaeda operative near the border of Yemen’s Marib province this week was among the first attacks carried out under the new authority.

The decision to give the CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) greater leeway is almost certain to escalate a drone campaign that has accelerated significantly this year, with at least nine strikes in under four months. The number is about equal to the sum of airstrikes all last year.

The expanded authority will allow the CIA and JSOC to fire on targets based solely on their intelligence “signatures” — patterns of behavior that are detected through signals intercepts, human sources and aerial surveillance, and that indicate the presence of an important operative or a plot against U.S. interests.

Until now, the administration had allowed strikes only against known terrorist leaders who appear on secret CIA and JSOC target lists and whose location can be confirmed.

Moving beyond those rules of engagement raises substantial risks for the Obama administration, which has sought to avoid being drawn into a fight between insurgents and Yemen’s central government.

Congressional officials have expressed concern that using signature strikes would raise the likelihood of killing militants who are not involved in plots against the United States, angering Yemeni tribes and potentially creating a new crop of al-Qaeda recruits.

Critics have also challenged the legal grounds for expanding the drone campaign in Yemen. In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Sunday, Bruce Ackerman, a law professor at Yale University, argued that war measures adopted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were not aimed at al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate and don’t provide Obama “with authority to respond to these threats without seeking further congressional consent.”

The Post reported last week that the CIA was seeking authority to expand the drone campaign in Yemen. The approval of that enhanced authority was first reported Wednesday on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site.

CIA and White House officials declined to comment.

Administration officials stressed that U.S. airstrikes in Yemen will still be under tighter restrictions than they have been in Pakistan. CIA drones flying over Pakistan’s tribal belt are allowed to strike groups of armed militants traveling by truck toward the war in Afghanistan, for example, even when there is no indication of the presence of al-Qaeda operatives or a high-value terrorist.

In Yemen, by contrast, signature strikes will only be allowed when there is clear indication of the presence of an al-Qaeda leader or of plotting against targets in the United States or Americans overseas. In recent months, U.S. spy agencies have collected intelligence indicating plots against American diplomats or U.S. special operations troops who are working alongside Yemeni counter-terrorism units.

But much of the expertise that the CIA and JSOC will employ in Yemen is likely to draw heavily on the agency’s experience in Pakistan. There, officials said, the CIA has become so proficient at monitoring militant groups that it can tell when an al-Qaeda leader is present at a compound through chatter on signals intercepts, security precautions taken before the dignitary’s arrival, as well as the number and behavior of al-Qaeda security personnel around the perimeter of the site.

The target of this week’s strike was an alleged al-Qaeda operative, Mohammed Saeed al Umda, who is thought to have trained at a camp in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion in 2001. Yemeni officials described Umda, reportedly also known as Ghareeb al Taizi, as a commander of military operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.

But Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University, has questioned whether Umda was a high-ranking figure in the group as well as the wisdom of the expanded drone operations.

 “Body bags are not a good barometer for success in a war like this,” Johnsen wrote on his blog, responding to reports that the CIA was seeking to use signature strikes. “I would argue that U.S. missile strike[s] are actually one of the major — not the only, but a major — factor in AQAP’s growing strength.

 “Body bags are not a good barometer for success in a war like this,” Johnsen wrote on his blog responding to reports that the CIA was seeking authority to use signature strikes. “I would argue that U.S. missile strike[s] are actually one of the major — not the only, but a major — factor in AQAP’s growing strength.”

 “Body bags are not a good barometer for success in a war like this,” Johnsen wrote on his blog responding to reports that the CIA was seeking authority to use signature strikes. “I would argue that U.S. missile strike[s] are actually one of the major — not the only, but a major — factor in AQAP’s growing strength.”

AQAP has significantly expanded in numbers, strength and territory since one of its top leaders, the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed in a CIA drone strike last year. White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan described AQAP as “very, very dangerous” in a speech at New York police headquarters last week, according to an account by CNN.

AQAP has more than 1,000 members in Yemen and “close connections” to al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, Brennan said, according to CNN. “We are very concerned about AQAP. It’s the most active operational franchise.”

AQAP has been tied to terrorist plots including the 2010 attempt to mail parcels packed with explosives to addresses in Chicago and the attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009.

The U.S. military has carried out airstrikes using drones as well as conventional aircraft and ship-based missiles for several years. The CIA joined the hunt last year when it opened a secret drone base at an undisclosed location on the Arabian Peninsula.

73 Yemeni soldiers would be executed by Ansar al-Sherea very soon, HRW warns… updated

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, April 25, 2012- Yemen Ansar al-Sharea, an Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda threatened to execute at least 73 soldiers captured by the militants during raids on military bases in Yemen's southern province of Abyan last month within a week if the group doesn’t meet their demands.

The militants asked Yemen new president Abdo Rabo Mansoor Hadi and his Prime Minister Mohamed Basindwe to free their militants from Yemeni jails or they would execute their soldiers.

In a video posted on the Internet showed several soldiers being held by Islamic militants in Yemen saying that they in danger of being executed by the group. The soldiers said that they have been sentenced to death, asking the Yemeni government for immediate action to be taken to save their lives.

The militants overwhelmed the military bases in the Doufas district killing and taking as hostage scores of soldiers as well as looting military equipment.

Earlier this month, at least 23 Yemeni soldiers were executed by Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen's southern province of Lahj.

Army soldiers from the 119th Brigade who were held captives by Ansar Al-Sharea militants linked to Al-Qaeda during fighting were executed in the desert between Lahj and Abyan provinces by the terrorist group members.

"Many dead bodies of the army soldiers were found scattered in different places in the suburbs of Lahj province following the fierce fighting,'' residents said.

Members of the Yemeni parliament called to engage al-Qaeda into a dialogue, trying to negotiate the terms of a truce.

The parliamentarians from the Legislative Assembly insisted on the Executive to agree to hold talks with leaders of Ansar al-Sharia.

A group of legislators from different tendencies appreciated the talks with the militia, which in Sana'a is considered a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP), a duty under certain conditions to put end to the bloodshed in the country.

Human Rights Watch urged on Wednesday Ansar al-Sharia militants to drop its threat to execute captured Yemeni soldiers, calling the Yemeni government to not agree to swap the militants for detained Islamist militants in Yemeni jails.

“Ansar al-Sharia should immediately drop its threat to execute captured Yemeni soldiers,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.  “No one’s life, whether a captured soldier or civilian, is a bargaining chip to be discarded at will,” she added.

The organization stated that the executing prisoners is a serious violation of the laws of war and a war crime. It is also a war crime to use detainees as hostages by threatening to kill or otherwise harm them to compel another party to do or abstain from any act.

In a separate development, Yemen's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that at least 8 al-Qaeda militants were killed on Wednesday in artillery shelling in Yemen's southern province of Abyan.

The ministry reported that the artillery shelling took place in Um Hadean district of Abyan province targeting Ansar al-Sharea hideouts within the district.

"A civilian along with five al-Qaeda militants were killed on Tuesday evening during an attack on the militants in al-Kaheraba district of Abyan," the ministry added.