Al Qaeda assassinates 37 Yemeni officials

By Nasser Arrabyee/13/06/2010

A total of 37 military and security officials were assassinated by Al Qaeda in Yemen over the last three years, security sources said Sunday.

Al Qaeda planned to assassinate 40 officials to enhance its control over the eastern areas like Mareb, Shabwa, Al Jawf, Hudhrmout where the government is very weak.

Since early last May, Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP, Yemen and Saudi branches) started a new plan for assassinating new officials with two of them at least were already killed over the last few weeks in Mareb, the sources said.

Because of the recent painful blows, the sources said Al Qaeda might escape from Yemen to Somalia or Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, tribal leaders reached an agreement to allow technical teams to repair an oil pipeline blown up in Mareb earlier on Saturday by gunmen angry over the government's crack down on Al Qaeda militants hiding in their areas , said tribal sources Saturday.

The tribal leaders also agreed to be united against Al Qaeda and anyone of them who harbours Al Qaeda militants.

The sources said that the tribal leader Nasser Kumad, removed the check points installed by his tribesmen from Abaida after they blew up the oil pipe line which passes through their area in Abaida valley in retaliation for shelling their houses while shelling Al Qaeda hideouts.

Many tribal leaders like Sheikh Kumad and Sheikh Ahmed Al Shareef went Saturday to Al Hadba area in Wadi Abaida, the place where the pipe line was blown, and allowed the technical teams to start repairing the pipe line which transfers the oil to Ras Essa exporting port.

Earlier in the day, he tribal leaders had met in the city of Mareb with the Minister of Interior Mutahr Rashad Al Mesri and the governor of Mareb Naji Al Zaydi who promised to compensate for any house damaged while bombarding Al Qaeda hideouts.

The Minister of Interior Al Mesri said the military campaign would continue Al Qaeda militants are arrested and brought to justice.

Since last Wednesday, the government troops have been launching a military and security campaign on Abaida valley where two main Al Qaeda operatives are hiding with their supporters.

The troops hit the houses of the two operatives but failed to arrest them. The two operatives, disowned by families and tribesmen, are called Hussein Al Akaili and Ali Saeed Jamil.

Al Akaili according to local sources led a group of Al Qaeda militants and killed the military commander Mahammed Saleh Al Shayef and two of his bodyguards in Mareb on June 5th.

Ali Saeed Jamil, known as Emir (leader) of Al Qaeda in Mareb, was the one who lured Jaber Al Shabwani who was killed along with three of his bodyguards mistakenly by an air strike on May 24 after Jamil deceived the Yemeni intelligence through a double agent, according to local sources.