Tag Archives: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

The US is reported to have killed Abu Ali al Harithi, a mid-level Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader, in a June 3 airstrike in the south. Harithi is said to be a senior commander in Shabwa province.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters are reported to have taken control of the Maqateen seaport in Abyan province. AQAP is said to be in control of the cities of Zinjibar in Abyan and Azzam in Shabwa.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took control of the city of Azzan in Shabwa province and declared it a part of its “Islamic emirate.”

Nasir al Wuhayshi, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s emir, threatened the US for killing Osama bin Ladem. “What is coming is even worse, what awaits you is more intense and more damaging,” he said in a statement released on jihadist forums.

Anwar al Awlaki, the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ideologue and leader, threatened to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden. “The martyrdom of Sheikh Osama does not mean that jihad will end.”

In the latest edition of Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”s English-language magazine, Ibrahim Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee, attacked the Saudi government for sheltering former Tunisian President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali. Rubaish also called for the imposition of sharia law in Tunisia.

Anwar al Awlaki, a top al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader, said that the uprisings in the Middle East will benefit al Qaeda and allied jihadist movements. Awlaki, an American citizen, made the statement in the fifth edition of Inspire magazine.

The US State Department added Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri to the list of specailly designated global terrorists. Asiri is AQAP’s top bomb maker and aided in his brother’s failed assassination attempt against Saudi Arabia’s deputy interior minister in January 2009.

Yemen’s Interior Ministry claimed it captured Khalid Saeed BaTarfi, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s “communication officer.” BaTarfi is also an AQAP military commander in Abyan province.

A terrorism court in Sa’ana, Yemen convicted one al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative to 15 years in prison and two others to two years for targeting foreigners in terrorist attacks. Videos of AQAP leader Anwar al Awalaki remain on YouTube despite efforts to have them taken down.

Ibrahim al Rubaish, a senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, called for Arabs to revolt against the government and establish an Islamic Caliphate. Rubaish also criticized Saudi Arabia for sheltering Tunisia’s deposed president.

The security director of Abyan province denied reports that Sa’id al Shihri, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s second in command, died while assembling a bomb. Saudi officials also denied Shihri is dead.

Anwar al Awlaki came out in support of Abdulelah Shaea, a Yemeni “journalist” who was convicted of supporting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Awlaki praised Shaea on a tape released on the Internet. President Saleh ordered the release of Shaea on Feb. 1 but he is still in jail.

Security officials told The Yemen Post that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s deputy leader, Said al Shihri, was killed when a bomb he was assembling detonated prematurely. The report has not been confirmed.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced the execution of Colonel Ali Mohammed al Husam, the deputy director of the Political Security Service in Sada’a province. Husam was kidnapped in August 2010. AQAP demanded that the government free two terrorists detained last year.

Anwar al Awlaki sought the help of British Airways employee Rajib Karim to carry out bombings on airplanes in the US. US intelligence has warned Wall Street banks that AQAP seeks to carry out attacks against executives.

Said al Shihri, the second in command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, declared war on Shia Houthis based in the Yemeni north. “…We announced jihad against Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite advocates,” he said in an audiotape.