Zawahiri Signs Off
Wonder if Zawahiri discussed it in the negotiations with the regime about new releases and fighters for Sa’ada? That’s the opposition meme, the merger is a power play by Saleh on SA to diminish any support for the southern liberation movement. The article has a good characterization of the strategic importance of Yemen to al-Qaeda Central, “huge”.
AJ: Al-Qaeda groups in Yemen and Saudi Arabia have announced they are merging their operations, raising fears of new attacks in the region.
The organisation said on Tuesday that the joint forces would carry out operations across the Arabian peninsula and beyond.
Nasir Wuhaishi was named as the head of the new combined al-Qaeda unit.
Wuhaishi’s appointment was confirmed by Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the deputy al-Qaeda chief, in a video posted online.
The group’s deputy was named as Said Ali al-Shihri, a former prisoner at the United States’ Guantanamo Bay detention facility, who was released from Saudi custody in 2007.
Yemeni authorities said they had stepped up security following the announcement.
‘Huge significance’
Analysts say Yemen is of huge significance to al-Qaeda.
“Weapons, training, crossing points and the launch of operations have all come from Yemen,” Abd Alelah-Haidar, a “terrorism” specialist who has met Wuhaishi, told Al Jazeera.
“This country is seen as having strategic significance, not only by al-Qaeda, but also by others. [However,] their operations are not confined to the Arabian peninsula but also include Iraq, Afghanistan, Nahr al-Bared [in Lebanon], and Palestine.”
