The Empty Quarter

Traveled to the U.S. with his mother in 1995. Recruited by an ‘Amr Muhsen Hassan al-Mahfli al-Raimi. He was previously wanted and was included in Yemen’s 161 most wanted list…

HEAVILY UPDATED: Another suicide bomber has struck in Yemen near Sana’a airport. This time, it appears that the Korean delegation headed by the korean ambassador was the target. The bomber blew himself up as the delegation convoy passed en route to the airport. Apparently, a car window was smashed but nobody was injured…

UPDATED: What seems to be known: Four South Korean tourists, two men and two women, were killed after a bombing incident around sunset Sunday evening in the area of Shibam in the governorate of Hadhramout. Information beyond those details seems to be mixed between reports…

There has been a lot of talk in the Yemeni press the last month, and on other blogs the last few days, discussing the possibility of another conflict in Sa’dah…the sixth, but whose counting. Not to disappoint, I’m going to add my two rial and tell you why I think the current crosswinds are right for another flare up..

al-Ghad has it from “reliable sources” that a one-year truce has been agreed upon by the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQ-AP) and its leader ‘Abu Basir’ Nasser al-Wahayshi. The agreement was apparently reached via the government’s jihadist middleman Tariq al-Fadhli…

All parties involved have committed themselves to silence? In the spirit of “national interest.” One major piece of news is that some sort of hybrid proportional system has been agreed to…

Informed sources have said that a senior U.S. military official that visited Sana’a this week (hint: Lieutenant General Samuel T. Helland, Commander, USMC Forces Central, was just in Yemen) offered U.S. military assistance in hunting out al-Qaeda in Yemen’s tribal areas, according to al-Watan…

UPDATED: A conclusive agreement with the Joint Meeting Parties JMP is expected to be arrived at tonight, learned sources confirmed to YemenOnline. The sources added that the upcoming Parliamentary Elections are expected to be postponed 2 years as a maximum during which amendments to the issues agreed upon will be considered…

Abu Nasar Al-Haweshi from Yemen has been nominated as Al-Qaeda’s leader for Gulf Region, TheNation learnt through highly-placed reliable sources on Sunday…

This really needs some confirmation – there is a whole lot here that just doesn’t add up…

Just posted this morning on the forums, enjoy…
UPDATE: There’s audio too…
2nd UPDATE: The audio is now on YouTube, no download needed…

3rd UPDATE: One day after the statement by the Minister of Interior that al-Qaeda no longer exists in Yemen, Mohammed Al-Awfi, a Saudi national who has been an ex-gitmo, turned himself in to Yemeni security authorities, which in turn handed him over to Saudi Arabia, security sources said…

Greg Johnsen has been busy - and not with his love of controversial novelists. He found and analyzed the names of the 112 controversial “al-Qaeda-linked-not-al-Qaeda-linked” prisonersreleased by Yemen so far. And, well…as Ricky says, “Aaaali, you gots some ‘splainin’ to do”…

The king of Saudi Arabia dismissed two powerful religious figures Saturday, as part of a government shuffle that appeared aimed at reforming the kingdom’s hard-line religious establishment…

Armed fighting broke out Friday north of the capital, between Central Security forces members of the Military Police, al-Sahwah reports. The dispute was over the ownership of land and accusations of blackmail against members of Central Security, who are alleged to have been extorting protection money in exchange for building permits…

Here’s a recent analysis by Jane Novak from over at Armies of Liberation. I have no qualms with much of the underlying information within the analysis; however, as often happens with analyses, we have disagreements on interpretation…

UPDATED: Dr. Abdul Matri, Founder and President of the “Assembly for the Preservation of Military Retirees” was arrested at a checkpoint and taken to central security in Dali. He was taken while returning from a festival commemorating the Martyrs of the southern independence movement against the British….RELEASED

UPDATED: Yemeni border guards apprehended 32 people suspected of being linked to the newly formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group. The arrest comes after the release by Saudi Arabia a list of 85 individuals wanted by the state, and after a mass mobilization of Yemeni forces to the border region…

Yemen released 170 men it had arrested on suspicion of having ties to al-Qaida, security officials said Sunday, two weeks after the terror group announced that Yemen had become the base of its activities for the whole Arabian peninsula.

What was noticeable with regards to the Saudi list of 85 suspected on charges of being involved in terrorist activities is the sheer variety of ages, backgrounds and appearance of those included on the list, not to mention their regions [of origin] which comprise Central, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Saudi Arabia.

UPDATED: Asharq Al Awsat published a report claiming that al Qaeda is using Iran as a “base of operations” for attacks inside the Saudi Kingdom as well as Jordan. The allegations are consistent with other evidence, and represents an increased willingness of Iran to allow al-Qaeda to operate within its borders.

Terror experts in the Kingdom are claiming that terror-suspects have fled Saudi Arabia as they no longer find it congenial for the growth of extremist ideologies. “Security operations in the Kingdom have proved to be a total success in checking the spread of extremist activities and driving them out of their hiding places.”

UPDATED: Yemeni security forces released on Tuesday 11 al-Qaeda suspects who were held at al-Mansour prison in Aden , well-informed sources told Sahwa Net. The release came following issuing official orders to the prison management , pointing out that these orders would include 140 prisoners charged with affiliation to al-Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard Fawzi al-Wajih tells al-Quds al-Arabi about his now famous escape in Yemen through a tunnel to a nearby mosque. He tells the paper that following the escape he took refuge from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh before he turned himself in.

Yemen has begun deploying security forces to the border regions in response to intel that al-Qaeda members are crossing the border to attack foreign interests including the British and American embassies and tourist sites.

Apparently News Yemen has obtained a document from the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which sheds light on the relationship between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Jihadist in the country, especially those engaged in the civil war of 1994.

As announced earlier, an interview with the newly anointed leader of the supposedly newly consolidated “al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula” (AQ-AP) was released.

Starring:
Abu Basir Nasser al-Wahayshi( ابو بصير ناصر الوحيشي )
Abu Safwan al-Azdi Sa’id al-Shihri (ابو سفيان الازدي سعيد الشهري ),
Abu Hureira Fasim al-Dimi (ابو هريره قاسم الديمي ),
Abu al-Harith Mohammad al-A’ofi (ابو الحارث محمد العوفي )

The new regional organization has chosen “Abu Basir” as general, and Sa’id Ali al-Shihri, the released Saudi from Gitmo, as Vice-General. They also plan to release another edition of the e-zine “echo of the battles”

Al-Wasat reports that a battalion leader within al-Qaeda group “Jund al-Yemen” has confirmed that the captured and killed individuals in Sana’a were in fact an AQ cell. However, “Abu Osama” denied that they were planning an operation or preparing for jihad.

The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former Islamic extremists before resurfacing with al Qaeda in Yemen.

Two suspected members of a cell belonging to the al-Qaeda terrorist network were killed and another arrested after a clash with police forces in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday, security sources said.
UPDATE: A campaign to capture financier Naif al-Qahtani has been launched following the arrest.

The following is a great analysis done by Yemeni-American journalist and friend Munir al-Maweri. Unfortunately, thus far I have only seen it on Sout al-Gnoub and a forum, which will limit its reading in Yemen.

About 180 people have been killed or are missing after torrential rains and flooding in Yemen, according to the UN agency for refugees. More than 20,000 people have been left homeless, the UN World Food Programme said.

Many people still remain under arrest without charges or trial, or disappeared, after a government crackdown on Zaidi rebels, Human Rights Watch report says, warning that conflict could ignite again.

The security source said investigations and evidence found with members of the cell, including a computer set disclosed correspondence between one of e the cell members, the deputy leader of the cell Basssam Abdullah Fadle al-Haydari and one of the Israeli intelligence sides through which there was a demand for support for carrying out terrorist acts inside Yemen.

An al Qaeda source told al Wasat by telephone that the assassination of Mohammad Rabeysh Kalan was in retaliantion for the killing of four AQ operatives last year. The source also gave up the name of the US embassy bomber, “Mahmoud Saad,” but refused to give more details.

Saudi Arabia hosted a session between Afghan officials and the Taliban last month at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Tuesday. The officials met in the city of Mecca and attended an iftar, the evening meal that ends the fast between sunrise and sunset during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to several people who attended the session.

Religious enforcement authorities are trying to impose a strict adherence to religious practices, and, some claim, to limit the participation of women in society. Analysts and opposition politicians suspect a political motive behind the establishment of the committee, fearing that Mr Saleh, the president, may be using the group to split the opposition and the Islah party

Let the conspiracies begin…it was…*snicker*… Mossad! Getting back at Yemen for President Saleh revealing their involvement in Islamic Jihad and the U.S. embassy bombing. Honestly, lets get more creative here, please. the almustqbal article that makes the claim follows the one from YemenOnline.

Ali Nasir has told al Ayyam that he was the victim of another assassination attempt recently, when five men broke into his house at three in the morning. The Syrian security forces are investigating. Is it just me or is Ali Nasir sounding a little paranoid here…it does seems like his assassination attempts are perenial these days.

Prince Naif said the concerned authorities have started referring 991 people involved in terror cases to Shariah trials after completion of the charges filed against them. The Minister of Interior, said terrorist operations targeted the way of life and principles of the Kingdom by creating chaos; Over 30 operations were carried out inside the Kingdom which included bomb blasts, murders, and kidnappings.

“…She decided that the time had come to write about her relative, Zekharia Hadad, the brother of Grandma Levana (”Kamar,” in Yemenite), who was kidnapped as a young boy, forced to convert to Islam, and given the name Abdul Rahman Yahya al-Iryani before being appointed the president of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), in 1967.”…HUH?!?!

A Mareb area security chief Major Mohammad Rabeysh Ka’lan was killed when he opened a package left outside a gas station near a market on Saturday. Al-Hadath sources say that indicators point to al-Qaeda in the bombing - most likely in retaliation for the arrest of al-Qaeda members in the same region.

Gen. Colin Powell didn’t just endorse Sen. Barack Obama for President on Sunday. He addressed the racist and xenophobic sentiment behind charges that the senator is a “Muslim” and consorts with terrorists. This has security implications as much it is an issue of civil rights and social justice for Arabs and Muslims in the U.S.. [...]

Baoom and others call for boycott of Parliamentary elections and support of independence…shocker. More here.
في إمعين : مهرجان يدعو إلى مقاطعة الانتخابات وتصعيد الإعتصامات والاحتجاجات
شهدت مدينة العين بمديرية لودر محافظة أبين مهرجانا جماهيريا نظمه مجلس تنسيق دثينة شارك فيه أبناء مديريات المنطقة الوسطى تواصلا للحراك السلمي في المحافظات الجنوبية,وألقي في المهرجان عدد من الكلمات استهلها [...]

For those who don’t know the whole saga, the Post has a thorough overview of the U.S.S. Cole bombing and its aftermath. Nothing really new, except some quotes from Yemeni officials. The documents accompanying the article are in interesting read too. Regarding Yemen’s refusal to cooperate with the initial investigation – I know that since [...]

This is why Sadiq al Ahmar’s control of Islah is such a tragedy. I feel sorry for the Brothers and true “reformists” within the party who must deal with him. I don’t disagree with anything he is saying, just the sentiment behind it.

Do they even have patents in Yemen? Maybe that’s why he’s having trouble. No joke, it would be great if it was true…but I don’t have much “faith” in the al Iman head. I think the all the henna might be affecting to his brain. Now hepatitis B and C, and diabetes! Wow, I can’t [...]