US warns Al-Qaeda branches on rise, as Iran stirs terror

August 1, 2012

Al-Qaeda affiliates pose a rising threat exploiting poverty and upheavals in the world's most vulnerable regions even as the core network is on the decline, the US State Department warned Tuesday.

In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2011, the department also branded Iran "the world's leading sponsor of terrorist activity" providing funds and support "for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East."

Both Iran and Al-Qaeda are helping to foment unrest by spreading "violent extremist ideology and rhetoric" in some of the world's most restive regions, the report to Congress maintained.

Hailing the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid on his Pakistani compound in May 2011, the report noted he had "remained deeply involved in directing (the group's) operations and setting its strategy."

"The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse," it said.

But, while the core group of Al-Qaeda may have been weakened over the past year, "we have seen the rise of affiliated groups around the world."

"There's no question there's cause for concern," ambassador at large from the department's bureau of counterterrorism, Daniel Benjamin, told journalists.

He stressed though that the core Al-Qaeda group had been the most "capable part of the organization" with the ability to carry out "catastrophic attacks on a scale that none of the affiliates have been able to show."

He pointed to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "the most dangerous of the affiliates," although he praised the efforts of new President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to crack down on the militants.

AQAP had gained territory in southern Yemen, and "was exploiting unrest in that country to advance plots against regional and Western interests," the report charged.

Meanwhile Al-Qaeda's north African branch, known as AQIM, "historically the weakest of the affiliates, saw its coffers filled in 2011 with kidnapping ransoms," it added.

Al-Qaeda affiliates were also at work in Iraq, capitalizing on the withdrawal of US forces from there, despite suffering recent leadership losses.

The Iraqi branch was "resilient" and "believed to be extending its reach into Syria and seeking to exploit the popular uprising against the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad."

According to the report there were more 10,000 terror attacks around the globe in 2011 in 70 countries and leading to over 12,500 deaths. However the figures represent a five-year low, having dropped by almost 12 percent from 2010 and by 29 percent from 2007.

Benjamin called 2011 "an extremely significant year in counterterrorism" not just because of the death of bin Laden, but also because of the Arab Spring, with millions demanding change in the Middle East without reference to "Al-Qaeda's incendiary worldview."

He warned of "attendant perils" though in which "terrorists could still cause significant disruptions for states undergoing" significant transformations.

The other main terror threat to the United States remained Iran, which was designated by the US as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984.

"Iran remained an active state sponsor of terrorism in 2011 and increased its terrorist-related activity," the report said.

The Islamic Republic's aim was "likely in an effort to exploit the uncertain political conditions resulting from the Arab Spring, as well as in response to perceived increasing external pressure on Tehran."

A plot uncovered in September to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US "underscored anew Iran's interest in using international terrorism -- including in the United States -- to further its foreign policy goals."

Tehran was also continuing to provide arms and training to militant groups such as Hamas and other Palestinian extremist groups, as well as Hezbollah.

And Iran's Revolutionary Guards had provided training to Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

The report also charged that Iran was allowing Al-Qaeda members to use its territory as a pipeline to funnel funds and operatives into South Asia.

The report also highlighted concerns about Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, said to have Al-Qaeda ties, and highlighted the situation in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where "a number of loosely knit militant groups have formed... with some claiming ties and allegiance to Al-Qaeda."

Source: Bangkok Post

Yemen snubs Iranian envoy after uncovering spy ring

SANAA | Tue Jul 31, 2012

 (Reuters) - Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has snubbed a visiting Iranian envoy to signal his "displeasure" with Tehran, a Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday, only weeks after Yemen said it had uncovered an Iranian-led spy ring in the capital Sanaa.

The Iranian envoy was visiting Yemen to invite Hadi to the Non-Aligned Movement's summit in Tehran in August.

"Hadi's refusal to receive the Iranian envoy was an expression of Sanaa's displeasure with Tehran's policy towards Yemen," a Yemeni Foreign Ministry official told Reuters.

The state news agency Saba said on July 18 that Yemen had uncovered a spy ring led by a former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The spy ring, which kept an operations centre in Sanaa, had also been operating in the Horn of Africa, the agency said.

Hadi ordered Iran after news of the spy ring emerged to stay out of Yemeni affairs.

Iranian media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying that Tehran respected Yemen's sovereignty.

Earlier this year, U.S. ambassador to Sanaa Gerald Feierstein said Iran was working with Shi'ite Muslim rebels in northern Yemen and secessionists in the south to gain influence at the expense of Yemen's Sunni-ruled Gulf neighbors.

The most powerful of those is Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the leader of the Sunni world and is Iran's rival for regional supremacy. It crafted the power transfer deal that saw Hadi's predecessor, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, leave office after 33 years.

17 killed in clashes at Yemen's interior ministry

SANAA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in clashes between the security forces and gunmen belonging to a group of army defectors at the Yemeni interior ministry on Tuesday morning, officials 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.

"The security forces arrested 28 soldiers of the defected army who were dressed in security force uniforms and found six bodies of the defected soldiers inside the interior ministry building," the interior ministry said.

"The central security forces have taken control of the ministry building after dozens of defected soldiers fled the scene," it 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 entered the headquarters of the interior ministry late on 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 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 sides of the clashes sent reinforcement to the area after conflict intensified and spread Tuesday afternoon to neighborhoods close to the U.S. embassy in eastern part of the capital.

In the past three days, sporadic gunfire between security forces and armed tribesmen was seen around the interior ministry. In Yemen, tribes always play an important role in the political process as hundreds of thousands of militants only pledge loyalty to their tribal leaders.

Yemen's interior ministry said on Tuesday that an Italian diplomat were kidnapped by tribesmen two days ago and has been transferred to a remote area in the northeastern province of Marib.

The abductors led by fugitive Ali Nasser Hiraygdan from Marib " are demanding compensation for disputed lands as well as the removal of their names from a blacklist of murderers and bandits," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Tuesday's fighting is the worst clash 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 he handed over power to Hadi.

Hadi has vowed to reunify the army, restore security and launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions so as to unite forces to combat the Yemen-based al-Qaida network.

He formed a preparation committee earlier this month in an attempt to break the deadlock and push forward the reconciliation dialogue. However, both the ruling coalition and opposition accused that the committee lacks proper representativeness and voiced dissatisfaction about its work, which further deteriorated the fragile security situation.

Yemen arrests suspected Qaeda leader

 (AFP) July 31, 2012

SANAA — Yemeni security services have arrested a suspected Al-Qaeda leader, Abdulrahman al-Baihani, wanted for plotting "terrorist' attacks in the capital, state news agency Saba said Tuesday.

The suspect is "one of the most dangerous wanted Al-Qaeda elements and among the prominent leaders plotting to carry out acts of terrorism and sabotage in the capital," Saba quoted a high-ranking security official as saying.

Baihani, who was arrested on Monday, "took part in fighting armed forces in Abyan province" from which Al-Qaeda militants were ousted in June following deadly battles with Yemeni forces.

He also "brought children whom he sent to fight alongside Al-Qaeda in Abyan and Shabwa provinces," the official said.

Earlier in July, Yemen announced it has placed its security services on high alert to prevent "terrorist" attacks after it uncovered a plot to launch assaults against security and military checkpoints.

Al-Qaeda militants have carried out several deadly attacks against Yemeni security services since President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who has repeatedly vowed to battle extremists, came to power this year.

In May, a Yemeni soldier detonated explosives packed under his uniform in the middle of an army battalion in the capital Sanaa, killing 96 troops and wounding around 300.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, believed to be the global network's most effective and lethal franchise, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

And on July 11, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of a police academy in Sanaa, killing eight cadets and wounding several more. Officials had accused Al-Qaeda of carrying out the assault.

But the network has not claimed responsibility for this attack.

In hidden mountain villages, disabled ignored

30 July 2012

Muaad Al-Maqtari, the Yemen Times

The tribes of Al-Zuriaka exist in hidden villages within the Al-Makatara mountainous ridge in Lahij governorate, in south Yemen. There, unprecedented physical impairments exist, ones that remain largely unseen.

In Al-Azraka village in Zurikat Al-Sham, there is a small cottage where Sharifa Mahyoob, 75, lives with her three daughters. Her daughters grew up disabled.

The family’s story was documented by the Ma'an Foundation for development, which paid a visit to Al-Azraka to distribute food aid and to conduct statistical analyses on the disabled.

In a recorded document, Mahyoob said her eldest daughter, Katiba, 30, lost her vision much too soon in life, and her ordeal was exacerbated when she fell from a high place, fracturing her back and paralyzing half of her body. 

Jooz, Mahyoob’s middle daughter, has a similar story to Katiba's. She lost her sight as well, though she is five years younger. Mahyoob is afraid Jooz would face the same fate as Katiba.

Jawhara, 20, is the youngest and was exposed to a different impairment. Mahyoob said her daughter Jawahara was unable to endure the pain that her two sisters bore. She went mad knowing nothing of what is around her. This became particularly heightened following the death of her father six years ago.

These three daughters have an elder brother, 35, and younger brother, 18.  Mahyoob said the eldest son is blind and the younger one is mentally unstable.

Mahyoob alone is responsible for handling this plight. She is the sole source of income for the family, all tortured souls in a hollow cave that none remembers but death.

A multitude of handicaps 

Fatin, Sifyan and Syeon all suffer from rachitic and glaucoma.

Mansour Al-Asbahi, a Ma'an Foundation employee who visited them, said these three handicapped persons lack food, health care and a suitable residence.

The situation worsened when their father committed suicide and their mother died from grief.

Rachitic, an inflammation of the spine, is the biggest hindrance in this village.

Raseel Ali Saif, 22, and his brother Rafee, 20, suffer from rachitic as well. This led their father to flee to Aden 15 years ago. The mother died five years ago.

These two boys have nobody to help them but their grandmother, who said she does her best to care for them along with their sister, who continuously weeps for lack of food. Food support is seasonally delivered to them.

Amen Al-Masani, a pediatrician in Khalifa Hospital in Al-Turba, south Taiz, said hundreds of children in these villages suffer from impairments in relation to childhood, parenthood and nutritional diseases.

Al-Masani said he thought people in these villages were unable to face these problems, which triggers further suffering.

He said cases of impairment are increasing in the villages, calling for a medical study to detect the reason of the prevalent diseases in these villages.

Rahma Afeef, 8, was born with two interconnected heads. Al-Masani said the two heads do the same job. This child was not exposed to a qualified hospital test to diagnose the case.

Al-Masani said glaucoma, blood diseases and respiratory diseases threaten the lives of these village residents.

Abdu Al-Rakeeb Sweileh suffers from a psychological imbalance because of the daily hardships he encounters as he cares for his disabled child, Kabeel, who appears emaciated from the lack of food.

Mentally disabled and kept in caves

Documents from the Ma'an Foundation indicate that there are a large number of mentally unstable people in these villages. Poverty is the primary reason for psychological instability for those who have nobody to care for them; most only take one meal a day.

Nokta Mohammed Abdu, 29, and her siblings Abdu, Maleeka, Bushra and Shahd are mentally handicapped and homeless, residing in mountainous caves. Their mother, who used to help them subsist, lost her vision and is unable to help.

Some mentally disabled people are fastened with chains and kept in the mountainous caves. Locals said Azal Al-Maqtari used to have a clinic; handicapped flocked to receive medical help. Unfortunately, Al-Maqtari could not endure the situation of those disabled. She committed suicide, poisoning herself..

According to the foundation, there are approximately 800 cases of people suffering from a disability; the total number of the population is about 10,000.

Drought forms the major problem in these villages where drinking water is not safe.

The locals have no choice but to drink from this water; otherwise they would perish because of thirst.

Agricultural products are unavailable. According to Zaeem Al-Maqatari, the head of Ma'an Foundation, 70 percent of people in this village live only on one meal a day.

The locals prefer to emigrate in order to look for food, water and medicine. Because the capable leave the village, the villages become housing estates for the sick and the handicapped.

There is no medical organization that diagnoses their diseases and provides them with medications.

The population of Al-Makatara is estimated at 60,000; this means there is one doctor for every 1,416 families and one medical center for every 2,000 families.

Doctor’s assistants, nurses and medical guides don’t exceed 80 people working in 19 unqualified medical units.

The medical workers in these centers receive cases that cannot be diagnosed by doctors and psychologists; they have no medicine to offer.

Fadl Al-Asbahi, an employee in the field of education, said the rehabilitation of the disabled is scarcely available due to the absence of a specialized foundation.