Car bombs versus drones, which would win?

By Nasser Arrabyee,15/05/2012 

Yemeni troops supported with local tribesmen and US drones nearly defeated Al Qaeda in its Taliban-style places in south of the country  after about one month of unprecedented  military and popular campaign. 

The Yemeni flag  was raised on Tuesday in  Yasof Mount which overlooks the southern town of Lawdar, one of the most important strongholds of Al Qaeda. 6 Al Qaeda operatives, 4 tribesmen and 2 soldiers were killed in the operation which was like the last straw that broke the back of Al Qaeda in Lawdar.

The defeat was recognized by Al Qaeda which said it was a tactic withdrawal after ammunition ran out.  At least four  of the escaping fighters were arrested in the same day in the neighboring province of Al Baidha according to security sources there. 

Such an unprecedented camping against Al Qaeda comes before the Friends of Yemen meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh on May 23rd, 2012.  The biggest concern of the Friends of Yemen ( mainly Americans, Europeans, Gulf countries) is the terrorism of Al Qaeda. 

Yemen says it  needs at least  about 10 billion dollars to restart its essential economic and development  projects after the one-year unrest.  The " Friends" would not pay any money  before Al Qaeda is defeated. 

The troops are only less than 8 km away from Jaar, the strongest and the oldest Taliban-Style emirates in the southern province of Abyan. Late Tuesday May 15, 2012, air strikes killed at least 12 in an attack on a house where Al Qaeda operatives were staying . Before the air strikes, helicopters dropped leaflets telling civilians to stay away from Al Qaeda. 

Local sources however, said only five Al Qaeda operatives were killed in the first air strike, and others were civilians who came after the strikes to rescue Al Qaeda. 

" The strike was on the house of Al Mansouri, where Al Qaeda operatives usually meet, and the first strike killed all the five who were in the house," said Mansour, a local resident. " When local people saw the house being destroyed, they went to see and rescue, but another air strike came killing 7 of them."o

More than 100,000 people displaced from Jaar and Zinjubar after the two towns were declared Taliban-Style Islamic Emirates early last year. The majority of them are still staying Aden in very bad humanitarian conditions. 

Zinjubar, the capital of Abyan, has been surrounded from all directions. 
" We expect to take control over Jaar and Zinjubar over the coming 24 hours, and we will declare Abyan as free province from Al Qaeda," said military sources. " Al Qaeda try to escape from Jaar and Zinjubar in Abyan  to Shabwah, and from Lawdar ( of Abyan also) to Al Baidha, but our troops and security agents will follow them wherever they go," said the military source.

US drones and US military and security experts are participating the ongoing campaign. The advisor of Barack Obama for counter-terrorism, John Brennan, paid one day visit  earlier this week to Yemen where he met the newly elected President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi who said eradication of Al Qaeda is irreversible. 




Suicide bomber with car bomb in Sanaa to retaliate the US drone attacks


The security forces are searching for a suicide bomber who has already entered Sanaa where he intends to blow himself up, said the ministry of interior on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement published on its website that the suicide bomber Abdullah Mohammed Jabir Al Shabwani, is now in Sanaa with his car bomb ( Land-cruiser, Jeep, model 2009, without number, but has the emblem of Republic of Yemen).

 The would-be suicide bomber Al Shabwani is originally from Abeidah  tribe of Mareb province. 

Al Shabwani may want to take revenge for the 16  Al Qaeda terrorists who were killed earlier this week in two different attacks on three cars in Mareb by US drones . The majority of those killed were from Mareb especially his tribe Abeidah.

On Saturday May 12, 2012, US drones attacked three cars laden Al Qaeda operatives in two different places in the eastern province of 
Mareb.

Six operatives were killed in the first car which was hit in the area of Husoon Al Jalal, in Wadi Abiedah of Mareb. Those who were killed in this strike were identified by the ministry of interior as 1)Mohsen Abdul Rehman Al Yosufi, 2) Saleh Mohammed Jabir Al Shabwani, 3) Abu Mutab Al Yamani,4) Abu Al Laith Al Hudhrami in addition to two other Saudi nationals who were not identified. 

 In the second drone attack, which happened about one hour later in the area of  Muksarah, between Huraib of Mareb and Baihan of Shabwah.

A total of  10 terrorists were killed in the two cars and they were identified by the ministry of interior as 1) Ali Hassan Ali Gharaib Al Shabwani, from Abeidah tribe of Mareb, 2) Hassan Suod Hassan Bin Mueli, from Abeidah tribe,3) Hamid Nasser Al Akra'a, Jedaan tribe of Mareb, 4)  Muhsen Saeed Kharasan, Jedaan tribe, 5) Ahmed Saleh Mohammed Al Fakeer, from Murad tribe of Mareb, 6) Mohammed Saleh Bakir Al Fakeer, Murad tribe, 7) Abdullah Ali Mohammed Al Kuti, Abeidah, 8) Aref Aisi Shabwi, from Shabwah,9) Mubarak Saleh Al Nasiri, from Shabwah, 10) Abu Obaidah Al Mesri, from Egypt.