Yemen extremists linked to beheading of Russian diplomat
Russian intelligence tracks down extremists in Aden who are aiding al-Qaeda in Iraq, just like the professor bumped into a major al-Qaeda recruiter in a coffee shop (and NPR published his name and photo).
(UPI) — Russian intelligence has been assisting Yemeni authorities in seizing Islamic extremists believed to be linked to the al-Qaida network in Iraq.
The independent Yemeni daily al-Wasat reported Thursday that two Yemeni fundamentalists were arrested in the port city of Aden in south Yemen with the help of Russian intelligence agents who have been monitoring their activities.
It said the two Yemeni youth were seized in the process of forming a new, self-styled group called the Brigade of Martyr Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Yemen whose mission is to raise funds and facilitate the travel of Yemeni fighters to Iraq.
“The information provided by Russian intelligence helped arresting the two fundamentalists because one of them is linked to the killing of Russian diplomats in Iraq who were beheaded by al-Qaida,” the paper said.
The brutal killing of the diplomats enraged Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the intelligence agencies to search for the killers and liquidate them anywhere in the world.
The paper said the Yemeni authorities, backed by the Russians, are searching for other terror suspects related to the two detainees.
If the story is true, the newly renegotiated agreement is still holding and the function of the group is to move fighters to Iraq, which was recently affirmed by Yemeni court not to be illegal and furthermore the duty of all Muslims. So likely it is not illegal in Yemen to be an accomplice to the beheading of a diplomat in Iraq, althought both the Iraqis and Russians would have jurisdiciton, and in Yemen they can only be charged with “forming an armed gang” with the intent to stike within Yemen which doesn’t seem to be the case.
