Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Energy News .




TERROR WARS
Yemen: Retreating al-Qaida takes revenge
by Staff Writers
Sanaa, Yemen (UPI) Jun 19, 2012


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

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.

But al-Qaida and a substantial group within al-Shabaab want to attack the United States. AQAP has made three unsuccessful attempts to bomb U.S. aircraft.

What makes al-Shabaab so attractive to AQAP is that its so-called "foreign wing" includes Somalia-born U.S., British and European citizens who would be able to infiltrate Western societies with little difficulty to carry out attacks.

On April 19, 2011, U.S. forces captured Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, an al-Shabaab operative with close ties to AQAP in Yemen, as he was traveling in a fishing boat in international waters from Yemen to Somalia.

He was reportedly held incommunicado in the brig of the U.S. Navy amphibious ship USS Boxer in the Arabian Sea for two months for in-depth interrogation before he was taken to New York.

He was indicted June 30, and formally "arrested" on July 3 on charges of seeking to broker an arms deal between AQAP and al-Shabaab.

The Warsame episode marked a significant shift in how terrorism suspects are handled following capture and this could point to wider use of such tactics known only to U.S. intelligence and the White House in line with U.S. President Barack Obama's escalation of the war against the jihadists from North Africa to Yemen and Pakistan.

Qatan led the Yemeni military's campaign, backed by U.S. airstrikes, against al-Qaida and was also the theater commander for southern Yemen.

The Defense Ministry version says he was killed with two aides when the suicide bomber threw himself on the hood of the general's vehicle and detonated explosives strapped to his body.

Another account says Qatan was walking into his headquarters in Aden, when the bomber stopped him, shook his hand and then detonated his bomb.

The assassination, the first against such a high-ranking Yemeni officer, took place as al-Qaida pulled out of the coastal town of Shuqra in southern Al-Abyan province, a longtime jihadist stronghold as the army swept in.

Shuqra was the third al-Qaida bastion to fall in a week after the cities of Jaar and Zinjibar, the provincial capital and a symbol of al-Qaida's successes in recent months.

The towns were seized in 2011 as the Sanaa government struggled to restore control after a yearlong uprising that resulted in longtime dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh stepping down.

The military splintered with some units remaining loyal to Saleh and his relatives who still command major formations, while others stood behind Saleh's successor and longtime deputy, Gen. Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, pushed into office in February by the Americans.

Qatan was the highest-ranking officer killed since Yemen, ancestral home of the late Osama bin Laden, became embroiled in the war against al-Qaida's death two decades ago.

The broad-daylight assassination was a major setback for the military operation against al-Qaida that began May 12 and which by military count has killed nearly 600 jihadists.

But it's too soon to determine whether it will undermine that campaign as it was finally getting to grips with the jihadists and their local ally, Ansar al-Sharia, or Partisans of Islamic Law.

Al-Qaida has been reported to be under intense pressure around Azzan, in neighboring Shabwa province as it tried to regroup and rearm.

.


Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TERROR WARS
US denounces attack on Yemeni general
Washington (AFP) June 18, 2012
The United States denounced a suicide attack Monday that killed a Yemeni general who had led a major offensive against Al-Qaeda militants in the country's south. General Salem Ali Qoton was killed when a suicide bomber threw himself on the officer's vehicle as he blew himself up, officials in Yemen said. "The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's terrorist attack against ... read more


TERROR WARS
S. Korea to conduct power shortage drill

88.8% Of Electricity In Brazil Is From Renewable Sources

Thousands converge for Rio U.N. talkathon

China to trial energy-saving electricity price scheme

TERROR WARS
British, Argentinian leaders clash over Falklands

Bankrupt British refinery facing closure

Why Natural Gas Could Displace Gasoline

Philippine ship pull-out calms tensions: China

TERROR WARS
US wind industry gains major new supporters for Production Tax Credit campaign

Scotland issues rare wind farm denial

South Korea partners for offshore wind

Change in air as Africa's biggest wind farm set for Kenya

TERROR WARS
Catching some rays: Organic solar cells make a leap forward

SPI Solar to become the Largest Utility-Scale Solar Developer in Hawaii

Trina Solar presents Honey Ultra World Record Technology and Trinasmart Performance Optimiser

SolarNexus Launches Web-Based Solar Business Management Software Platform

TERROR WARS
Lithuania opens probe into nuclear plant bribery claim

Japan PM orders first nuclear restart

EU closes probe into Areva, Siemens civil nuclear deal

RWE pulls plug on international nuclear power business

TERROR WARS
New 'OPEC' offers sustainable smell of sweet success

Carbon is Key for Getting Algae to Pump Out More Oil

Brazil ethanol plant at risk after protest

New energy source for future medical implants: sugar

TERROR WARS
Liu Yang: China's first female astronaut

Contingency plans to address 700 space scenarios

China's manned space mission "hits target": Russian expert

China astronauts enter space module for first time

TERROR WARS
Indiana drought a concern for farmers

Singapore adopts new climate strategy

Polish lawmakers nix referendum on climate package

'Drought-hit' UK lifts hosepipe bans after two soggy months




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement