The Empty Quarter

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This Korean news report has a pretty cool computer generated re-enactment of of the bombing. You get a really good idea of how it was carried out…

Security forces captured Saudi national Abdullah al-Harbi, named on the lists of Saudi Arabia’s 85 and Yemen’s 116 most wanted, in the governorate of Taiz on Sunday, March 15. Over the past few days a number of al-Qaeda operatives apparently surrendered to security forces in Abyan as well…

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…

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…

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…

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

A trickle of information continues to come out on the al-’Awfi experience. Crossed into Yemen with three others: Turki ‘Asiri, Murtadi Muqrim, and al-Shihri (Abu Sufyan)…

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 authorities are investigating a cell of seven Saudis discovered after the arrest of 30 individuals near the Saudi border last week. The cell was to take direction from al-Qaeda in preparing a series of attacks against foreign interests and tourists, as well as train new operatives…

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”…

Evan Kohlmann has put together the profiles of all 11 of the known al-Qaeda recidivists that graduated from the Saudi rehabilitation program after being released from Guantanamo. The report makes the case that al-Qaeda setbacks in the Kingdom are a result of failed leadership within the organization more than Saudi security successes as touted…

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…

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.

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.