Yemen arrests two Frenchmen belonging to Al Qaeda

A military spokesman announced Friday the arrest of two French jihadis who were fighting in the ranks of Al Qaeda in southern Yemen, according to the state news agency Saba. In addition, the army claims to have killed two suspected members of the organization, an explosives expert of Dagestani nationality and a Saudi. Since late April, the government launched an offensive against the strongholds of the insurgents, who have responded with various attacks; the last afternoon on the presidential palace in Sanaa has killed five soldiers standing guard, reports France Presse.

The French, identified as Murad Abdullah Taha al Abbad and Issawi, are of Tunisian origin. According to official information, the security services arrested them yesterday Hadramut province while trying to escape through a local airport.

Although it is not unusual for the presence of foreign jihadists in Yemen, it is the first time that French citizens arrest is announced. The authorities often emphasize the presence of foreigners among the leaders and members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group formed from the merger of the branches in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi even said that 70 % of the members of the organization came from other countries.

AQAP is taking advantage of the weakness of the state since the protests that rocked the country in line with the Arab Spring in 2011 to become strong in the south. Since late April, the Yemeni army carried out an offensive to stop the control of that group on the mountainous region of Al Kur, where the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan and Bayda converge. The first of them was killed yesterday where explosives expert Taimor the Dagestani and identified as a Saudi Turki Abdel Rahman.

During the day, government troops have faced militant installed on a hill that overlooks the main road in the county of Mahfad (Abyan). According to the official story, the insurgents fled, leaving three dead and two injured, who have been arrested.

In retaliation, the group attempted today on the presidential palace in Sanaa and tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Defence Minister Mohamed Naser Ahmad, Reuters reported. Ahmad was returning from visiting one of the strongholds of AQAP recovered by soldiers earlier this week. Since the start of the offensive, Yemeni forces seem to be counting on the support of unmanned aircraft (drones) U.S., although neither Washington nor Sanaa confirmed.

U.S. and its allies fear that AQAP, the most active branch of the terror group, take the growing destabilization of Yemen to launch new attacks against international targets. The country, one of the poorest in the world, also faces a separatist movement in the south and a rebellion in the north.

Moreover, the Yemeni authorities have expelled one of only two foreign journalists, Adam Baron Christian Science Monitor. According to authorities, a growing wave of attacks against citizens of other countries made ??them fear for their safety.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on May 12 2014. Filed under Middle East, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.