U.S. Airstrike in Yemen Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties

High_Gravity · Jul 14, 2011

U.S. Yemen Airstrike Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties

SANAA, Yemen (AP) A U.S. airstrike on a Yemeni police station overrun by Islamic militants killed at least six fighters Thursday, a Yemeni security official said.

The strike targeted a region where radical groups believed to have al Qaeda links have exploited the country's political upheaval to take over entire towns.

A five-month-old popular uprising seeking to oust longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh has led to a security breakdown across much of Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country and home to an active al Qaeda branch. In recent months, radical Islamist groups have overrun two towns and other areas in the country's southern Abyan province, the site of Thursday's strike.

The U.S. fears al Qaeda will exploit chaos in Yemen to step up operations there and has been aiding the Yemeni government's anti-terrorism efforts.

Yemeni security officials said Thursday's strike hit a police station in the town of Mudiya that militants had taken over, killing six who were sleeping inside. Security officials also said there were reports of people being wounded, but did not have details.

Resident Mohammed al-Mashraqi said weapons stored inside caused the station to catch fire after the strike. Dozens of militants rushed to the scene to evacuate the wounded and dig search the rubble for the dead, he said.

Security officials said the wounded were taken to a hospital in the militant stronghold town of Jaar, 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest. Yemen army units have been trying to dislodge militants from there and the nearby town of Zinjibar, causing regular casualties on both sides.

The officials said the strike was carried out by an American plane because Yemeni planes aren't equipped for nighttime strikes.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa were not immediately available for comment.
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U.S. Yemen Airstrike Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties

St.Blues · Jul 14, 2011

High_Gravity said: ↑

U.S. Yemen Airstrike Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties

SANAA, Yemen (AP) A U.S. airstrike on a Yemeni police station overrun by Islamic militants killed at least six fighters Thursday, a Yemeni security official said.

The strike targeted a region where radical groups believed to have al Qaeda links have exploited the country's political upheaval to take over entire towns.

A five-month-old popular uprising seeking to oust longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh has led to a security breakdown across much of Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country and home to an active al Qaeda branch. In recent months, radical Islamist groups have overrun two towns and other areas in the country's southern Abyan province, the site of Thursday's strike.

The U.S. fears al Qaeda will exploit chaos in Yemen to step up operations there and has been aiding the Yemeni government's anti-terrorism efforts.

Yemeni security officials said Thursday's strike hit a police station in the town of Mudiya that militants had taken over, killing six who were sleeping inside. Security officials also said there were reports of people being wounded, but did not have details.

Resident Mohammed al-Mashraqi said weapons stored inside caused the station to catch fire after the strike. Dozens of militants rushed to the scene to evacuate the wounded and dig search the rubble for the dead, he said.

Security officials said the wounded were taken to a hospital in the militant stronghold town of Jaar, 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest. Yemen army units have been trying to dislodge militants from there and the nearby town of Zinjibar, causing regular casualties on both sides.

The officials said the strike was carried out by an American plane because Yemeni planes aren't equipped for nighttime strikes.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa were not immediately available for comment.
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U.S. Yemen Airstrike Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties
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High, All those asshole Muslims are tied to the terrorist.

ThornFalcon · Aug 4, 2011

for the sake of humanity, please grow a functioning brain.

waltky · Aug 14, 2011

Dis oughta scare the bejeebers outta ya...

Officials: Al Qaeda trying to produce ricin
August 13, 2011 - Counterterrorism officials in the United States are worried al Qaeda is trying to produce ricin, a deadly poison, to combine with explosives for an attack against the United States, reports the New York Times.

Classified intelligence reports say that the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen has been attempting to get large quantities of castor beans, which are needed to produce the white powdery poison that can kill when just a speck is inhaled or absorbed in the bloodstream.

Officials say they have found evidence the operatives are attempting to move castor beans and processing agents to the Shabwa Province. Officials think that once concocted the operatives are planning to release the poison into a contained space like a shopping mall, subway airport.

However, security officials say there's no indication that a ricin attack is imminent.

Source
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waltky · Sep 25, 2011

Yemen on brink of civil war?...

40 killed as violence persists in Yemen
24 Sept.`11 Fighting raged on Saturday in the Yemeni capital, leaving at least 40 dead as forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled pro-opposition soldiers and moved to clear the protest camp at a Sanaa square that has been the epicenter of the country's uprising.

The latest spasm of violence came a day after Saleh suddenly returned to Yemen after more than three months of being treated in Saudi Arabia following an assassination attempt on him in June. Saleh's return Friday apparently aimed to ensure his grip on power as his loyalists and opponents wage urban warfare in Sanaa. Saleh's forces were battling on three fronts on Saturday. In the northwest section of Sanaa, mortars rained down on the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division, led by Saleh's former ally Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar who months ago sided with the opposition and whose followers have since been protecting the protesters' daily sit-ins and marches on Change Square.

Eleven of al-Ahmar's troops were killed in the shelling and 112 were wounded, according to Abdel-Ghani al-Shimiri, a spokesman for the turncoat soldiers. Around the square itself, Republican Guard forces led by Saleh's son, Ahmed, along with Central Security forces battled al-Ahmar's troops in an attempt to clear the square of protesters and end more than seven months of their encampment that has demanded Saleh's ouster. Using anti-aircraft guns, automatic weapons and RPGs, Guard forces intensified the shelling of the streets surrounding the square, while large number of snipers on rooftops hunted down protesters.

Mohammed al-Qabati, a medic who works at the field hospital set up at the square, said 29 people were killed there since the early hours Saturday, both from among the protesters and the troops guarding them. He said 54 people were also wounded in the attack. "More bodies and injured are pouring into the hospital," said al-Qabati, adding that ambulances have been forces to leave many bodies in the streets because of the heavy fighting. "Many of the injured get here by motorcycles." The scene was chaotic as thousands of protesters ran back and forth searching for a cover in nearby buildings, and witnesses said several houses were wrecked when hit by mortars as street battles raged between rival groups of soldiers.

Meanwhile, Yemen's interior minister, Gen. Mouthar al-Masri, told reporters on Saturday that eight government troops were killed and dozens of others were wounded. Al-Masri didn't elaborate when or how the casualties occurred, and it wasn't clear if he was referring to violence in Sanaa or elsewhere. The third front by Saleh's troops centered around Sanaa's district of Hassaba. Clashes there over the past two days between government forces and pro-opposition tribesmen killed 18 tribal fighters, according to a statement Saturday from tribal elders. Hassaba is home to Yemen's most powerful tribal confederation, the Hashid, led by Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, another foe of Saleh's. The two Ahmars are not related. Saturday's bloodshed also reinforced fears that Saleh's presence in the country has escalated the fighting into a full-fledged attempt to crush his rivals.

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UN calls for end to violence in Yemen
25 Sep 2011 - The Security Council calls on all parties to "show maximum restraint" after 18 civilians were killed on Saturday.

The United Nations Security Council has called for an end to violence in Yemen, where forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh have attacked opposition protesters and clashed with defected soldiers loyal to the Yemeni people's revolution, leaving scores dead or injured. The 15 Security Council nations, which include the US, China and Russia, issued a statement on Saturday calling on all sides to "reject violence, including against peaceful and unarmed civilians, and show maximum restraint." At least 18 civilians and 11 defected soldiers were killed on Saturday, raising the death toll to 49 since President Saleh returned from a three month absence on Friday and 144 since pro-Saleh troops intensified the government's crackdown last Sunday.

The UNSC statement also "called on all parties to move forward urgently in an inclusive, orderly and Yemeni-led process of political transition". "The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern at the continued serious deterioration of the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen. They were deeply concerned at the worsening security situation, including the threat from al-Qaeda in parts of Yemen," added the statement. The council called for access to provide humanitarian assistance and called on all sides "not to target vital infrastructure."

Sanaa violence

Government forces attacked unarmed demonstrators camped in Sanaa's "Change Square" and the headquarters of defected soldiers on Saturday. Troops loyal to Saleh launched the attack a little after midnight, opening fire with mortars and guns. Reports indicate that at least 18 people were killed and 54 injured in the assault. Muttahar al-Masri, Yemen's interior minister, however denied that a raid took place, blaming the gunfire on "extremists". Snipers also targeted the people in the square from buildings around it, witnesses said.

Medics working at a field hospital set up in the square said that some of those killed were mangled. "We have ... one killed in a terrible way by the mortar fire - we only have half a body," Dr Mohammed al-Qubati said. Hundreds fled from the southern end of the camp, witnesses said, as the attack continued through the day. Elsewhere in Sanaa, pro-Saleh forces shelled the headquarters of the First Armoured Division - the unit of defected soldiers supporting the Yemeni people's revolution. Reports said 11 soldiers were killed and 120 injured in the shelling.

'Vengeful soul'
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waltky · Oct 9, 2011

Que sera, sera...

Yemenis shrug off Saleh's talk of stepping down
Sun Oct 9, 2011 - Yemeni protesters camped out in Sanaa's central square said on Sunday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh's suggestion that he would step down in the coming days was another promise that they were sure would be broken.

Analysts mostly agree that the vow, made three times already this year by Yemen's long-time ruler, was a stalling tactic in a succession crisis that has spread turmoil through the country. A government official said Saleh was merely indicating readiness in a speech on Saturday night to reach a deal to end months of popular unrest. "Saleh is a liar, nothing has changed since his speech," said Mohammed al-Asl, a protest organizer. "We're used to this type of thing now. He just says anything to fool his own people, the world, and everyone. We're not paying any attention to this."

Protesters, camped out in tents in the area in Sanna now dubbed as "Change Square" were going about their usual business of buying food, cooking and chewing wads of qat, a popular mild leaf stimulant common in Yemen. Saleh's foreign minister met the U.S. ambassador for talks on Sunday, part of what many expect to be a diplomatic push to deflect any action by the U.N. Security Council when it is briefed on the Yemen situation in the coming days. The wily leader, who came to power in 1978, is under pressure from international allies, street protesters, armed opponents and opposition parties to make good on promises to hand over power and end a crisis that has raised the specter of a failed Arab state overrun by militants.

Confusion over Saleh's intent has been familiar fare in a conflict that has dragged on since January when protesters first took to the streets to demand reform and end the authoritarian grip of Saleh and his family. "I reject power and I will continue to reject it, and I will be leaving power in the coming days," the 69-year-old Saleh said on state television. He has already pulled back three times from signing a Gulf Arab peace initiative that would have seen him form an opposition-led cabinet and then hand power to his deputy before early parliamentary and presidential elections. Officials said often during his convalescence in Riyadh after an assassination attempt in June that he would return "in days" or "soon." He flew back unannounced in late September.

"He said this to show his commitment to this plan, but there is no plan for a resignation or transfer of powers before we have agreed and signed a deal. That would just plunge the country into chaos or even war," Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi told Reuters. "He is ready to leave power in days, yes, but whether this happens in the coming days or months will depend on the success of negotiations for a deal." Protests against Saleh's rule have eroded government control over parts Yemen and fanned fears al Qaeda's regional wing may use the upheaval to expand its foothold near oil-shipping routes through the Red Sea. "Everyone thinks he's just a liar," said Rani, a 19 year-old protester. "Maybe he wants to step down but just as likely he doesn't. As for us it's just a normal day."

U.N. DISCUSSES YEMEN
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Mad Scientist · Oct 9, 2011

There's a group in Libya with ties to Al Qaida but we can't bomb them because we're backing them.

Can someone please explain to me which Al Qaida group I'm supposed to hate?

waltky · Nov 22, 2011

Granny waitin' to see if he keeps his word dis time...

UN Envoy: Saleh Agrees to Step Down
November 22, 2011 - A United Nations envoy to Yemen says negotiators have reached agreement on a plan that calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in a bid to end the country's political crisis.

Jamal bin Omar said Tuesday that political leaders involved in talks had agreed to an initiative from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that calls for Saleh to transfer power to a deputy. The transfer would be followed by early elections. Saleh initially agreed to the GCC plan on three previous occasions but then refused to sign the deal.

However, Bin Omar said Tuesday that negotiators were discussing arrangements for a signing ceremony. Media reports say he will provide details in a Tuesday news conference. For more than 10 months, protesters have been demanding an end to Saleh's 33-year rule. The president's supporters have frequently held rival rallies.

Al-Qaida-linked militants have been trying to gain a stronghold in southern Yemen as the president battles unrest linked to anti-government protests. On Tuesday, military officials said at least 14 suspected al-Qaida militants were killed in clashes with Yemeni soldiers backed by tribesmen. They say the fighting erupted late Monday in the southern Abyan province.

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Yemeni Forces Kill 11 During Protests
November 11, 2011 - Yemeni government forces have killed at least 11 civilians in one of the country's largest cities, a day after a United Nations envoy started a mission to urge President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power.

Medical officials and witnesses say civilians were killed early Friday when Yemeni forces renewed shelling in Taiz, where demonstrators have been calling for President Saleh's departure. News reports say pro-government forces opened fire near Freedom Square, the site of ongoing protests against Mr. Saleh. The Reuters news agency says deadly clashes have also erupted between pro-Saleh forces and followers of opposition tribal leaders.

Meanwhile in the capital, Sana'a, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in competing demonstrations for and against President Saleh. The turmoil has coincided with a visit by U.N. envoy Jamal bin Omar who arrived Thursday in Yemen to try to convince the president to accept an initiative that calls for him to step down. The Yemeni leader has indicated on several occasions that he would accept the terms of the agreement, which was brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). However, each time he has backed away without signing the plan.

For months, opposition activists have held demonstrations calling on Mr. Saleh to resign. The president's supporters frequently have held rival rallies coinciding with the opposition protests. Mr. Saleh could face increased pressure from the European Union next week to accept the GCC initiative. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says the EU is set to discuss a plan that would freeze Mr. Saleh's assets if he does not agree to end his 33-year rule.

Source
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waltky · Dec 7, 2011

Here's hopin' Al-Shaabab doesn't move in and take over...

What next for Yemen after Saleh?
7 December 2011 - Yemen has seen months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh

First, the good news. Yemen is to get a new "unity" government. Key ministerial posts are to be allocated more or less equally between supporters and opponents of the outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who agreed last month to step down after 33 years in power. After suffering its most painfully violent year since the civil war of 1994, there could, just possibly, be light at the end of the tunnel for the Arab world's poorest country. Under a Gulf Arab initiative, launched by Yemen's nervous neighbours and backed by the UN, the new transitional government will rule for three months. Elections are then to be held, followed by a full handover of power from Mr Saleh to his vice-president.

That, at least is the plan, although many weary Yemenis have come to believe that Mr Saleh and his well-placed relatives have no real intention of relinquishing their grip on power. On Wednesday, a whole two weeks after the president signed the handover deal in Riyadh, fighting broke out once more in the capital Sanaa between troops loyal to him and his tribal opponents. There were reports of artillery exchanges, rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire. Elsewhere in this impoverished, partly mountainous country there are so many sources of conflict that the Arab Spring movement - which has brought thousands onto the street this year, demanding basic reforms like an end to corruption - has been all but eclipsed by the ongoing and deadly clashes.

There are at least three other flashpoints where fighting flares up intermittently, killing dozens and displacing thousands. In the central city of Taiz, 120 miles (200km) south of the capital, government troops have reportedly been shooting at protesters. "Officially", said a Yemeni official who asked not to be named, "the government says it is clashes with tribes but I'm afraid it is the troops doing the shooting." In the northern province of Saada where a Shia community known as Houthis predominate, there have been clashes with fundamentalist Sunnis known as Salafis. In the recent past the "Houthi rebellion" grew so intense that forces from neighbouring Saudi Arabia crossed the border and intervened on the side of the Yemeni government, with mixed results. And in the southern provinces east of Aden government troops are skirmishing with a well-armed alliance of Islamist fighters broadly linked to al-Qaeda.

Checkpoints, gun positions and even whole villages have changed hands and back again with weapons as heavy as Katyusha rockets being deployed. As if the government did not have enough on its hands, there is also a growing southern separatist movement - southerners convinced they would be better off without union with the north, and demanding a return to the status quo that existed before unification in 1990. All of this risks masking the chronic problems facing Yemen regardless of who is in charge. Oil and water are both running out, food prices are soaring and so is unemployment. Little wonder that Yemen's richer neighbours in the Gulf are urgently seeking to establish some kind of stability there before Yemen's problems become the whole region's problems.

BBC News - What next for Yemen after Saleh?
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waltky · Jan 5, 2012

Granny says Obama needs to send Seal Team 6 over there an' 'vote him outta office'...

Fears rising that Yemen president won't end rule
Jan. 5, 2012 Suspicions are mounting in Yemen that outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh is trying to wiggle out of a U.S.-backed deal meant to bring his 33-year, autocratic rule to an end.

Both opposition leaders and officials close to the president said Thursday they remain unconvinced that Saleh is serious about leaving power. They worry he will try to use the unstable country's continued unrest to keep his seat on the grounds that Yemen's active al-Qaida branch will step up operations if he leaves. Following 10 months of mass street protests calling for his ouster, Saleh in November signed a deal put forward by Yemen's powerful Gulf neighbors and backed by the United States, agreeing to pass power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office.

Six weeks later, he remains president, Yemeni state media still speak of him as leader of the nation and his allies frequently hinder the work of a new unity government sworn in by his vice president. "The president is basically not convinced that he has to leave power, so he will resist with all his remaining force," said a ruling party figure in Saleh's last government who was close to the president. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Adding further fuel to such concerns, Saleh changed his tune this week on his plans to travel to the United States. Mediators have been saying for weeks that he would seek medical care in the U.S. for continued treatment of wounds sustained in a June bomb blast at his palace. In late December, Saleh said he would go to help calm the turmoil in his country. Then on Saturday, he announced he would stay.

Saleh's request for a visa put U.S. officials in a bind. Allowing him in would open them to criticism from protesters who want Saleh to stand trial in Yemen for deadly crackdowns that have killed hundreds of protesters. Refusing him entry, however, would be hard to explain since he remains a U.S. ally. Washington says it is still considering whether to grant it. On Wednesday, a leader in Saleh's ruling General People's Congress party said Saleh had decided to remain Yemen in response to concerns that his departure could be bad for Yemen and the ruling party.

The opposition accused Saleh of stalling, recalling how for months he repeatedly agreed then refused to sign the Gulf proposal before he ultimately signed. "Saleh is repeating the scene from the past when he refused to sign the proposal," opposition leader Mohammed Sabri said. "Today he is trying to get out of carrying out the proposal and transferring power." The U.S. has long considered Yemen a necessary if not entirely reliable ally in the fight against the country's active al-Qaida branch and has provided Yemeni anti-terror forces with funds and training.

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U.S. Airstrike in Yemen Targets Group With Al Qaeda Ties

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