The Empty Quarter

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I am starting to tire of all the Awfi press, but this article I found rather interesting because of the psychological commentary and the discussion on al-Awfi mental state…or the speculation at least…

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula denied in an audio recording – published on Medad Al-soyoof Network – the news circulated by some agencies that the Field Commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Mohammed Al-Awafi turned himself in to Yemeni security authorities…

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.

US counter-terrorism officials are now echoing what their Saudi counterparts said yesterday – that al-Qaeda membership has migrated into Yemen recently. Veiled criticism of Yemen’s CT program.

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.”

Following the appeals yesterday by the Saudi government, the Yemeni government has begun its own publicity campaign urging tribesman to turn in al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, public appeals don’t get very far.

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.

Three of the wanted terrorist suspects aged between 20-25 years old have been arrested in Marib province. The three suspects, who were arrested in a raid within a nationwide anti-terrorism campaign, include a Kuwaiti national.

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.

I highly doubt this is al-Qaeda. This is too small-time for an opening salvo from AQ-Arab Peninsula. This is tribal…probably some sort of grenade or IED. A tribe in this region threatened bombings a few days back – wonder if they made good on their promise.

Yemeni military forces have surrounded a mountainous region of Shabwa near the Abyan border to search for possible members of al-Qaeda. They have been there since Tuesday.

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”

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.