Yemen's al-Qaeda vows revenge attacks on Shia Houthis

Yemen's al-Qaeda vows revenge attacks on Shia Houthis
Wed Nov 13, 2013 10:58:10

The terrorist al-Qaeda group in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has pledged to attack Shia Houthis in northern Yemen.

AQAP's warning that it would seek revenge, was contained in the transcript of a video recording by Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, a member of the  terrorist group, and posted by Yemeni journalist Abdul Razza al-Jamal on his Facebook page, Site Monitoring Service reported late on Tuesday.

"We declare our total solidarity with our Sunni (Salafi) brothers in the center in Dammaj, and in other Sunni areas that the Houthi group had attacked," said Harithi.

The statement also attempted to place the fighting in northern Yemen in the context of a wider Middle East sectarian struggle, comparing it to the conflict in Syria where terrorists are fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Salafis in Dar al-Hadith, the Dammaj School, have previously distanced themselves from al-Qaeda and criticized Osama bin Laden, but the seminary has also educated Muslims who later became prominent terrorists.

Damaj has been the scene of bloody clashes between Houthi fighters and Salafi groups in the province of Sa’ada in recent weeks.

At least 100 people have reportedly been killed in the fighting since October 30.

On Sunday, Houthis and Salafis reached a new ceasefire deal, brokered by government mediators, to stop deadly fighting in the northern Yemeni province of Sa’ada.

On November 4, a ceasefire was announced by the UN special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, to allow the evacuation of the injured people. However, the truce was violated only after a few hours.

The two groups accused each other of having violated the ceasefire. Houthi spokesman Ali al-Bakheeti said the foreign Salafi militants were responsible for the collapse of the truce.

Houthis said in a statement that the Salafi groups are igniting strife in the region by bringing thousands of foreign fighters to Damaj.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state faces a host of political troubles, including the Houthi-Salafi fighting, an al-Qaeda uprising, splits in the military and a southern separatist movement.

Observers fear further turmoil could create more space to operate for AQAP, already seen as one of the most dangerous al-Qaeda branches after it plotted attacks on international airliners, in a country that sits alongside big oil shipping routes.

NTJ/BA

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