Armies of Liberation

There’s a lot of related material below, including a statement by Abdelmalik and videos from Badr al Din al Houthi’s funeral. The rebel-manned check points in northern Yemen were established with the advent of the Saada Wars in 2004. Check points in al Jawf and Amran were in place well before the Houthis began their investigations into the two bombings. (Its still unclear if those attacks were suicide bombers or remotely controlled.) Even dignitaries were checked into the region and often escorted since the ceasefire. They caught Hussain al Tais last August at a checkpoint if I recall correctly.

The Houthis area of control is growing, a result of alliances with some tribal leaders including Shaifis and other Sunni sects as recently noted. In addition to mediating and resolving some long standing tribal disputes, they forbid women from shopping alone in the markets, arrested some homosexuals and banned smoking among the ranks. The explicit focus on capturing al Qaeda operatives is new, and following the deadly al Qaeda attacks, logical and necessary. The Houthis turn their prisoners over to state’s security forces at the same time that they forbid residents from cooperating with the state.

According to the Mareb Press article below, Abdelmalik is blaming the US for the deadly attacks last week as a plot against Muslims. Their counter-terror efforts are not a a “tribal awakening” ala Iraq, but an independent uptick in security procedures for the benefit of the residents that converges with US interests. We are under attack by the same enemy, but the Houthis don’t see it that way.

The Yemeni government committed substantial war crimes against the Houthis and more importantly, the civilian population in Saada, since 2005. US acquiescence was interpreted as control. Well over 200,000 remain displaced and starving to death, mostly women and children. The Houthis, like many Yemenis, believe al Qaeda is a US creation and Anwar al Awlaki is a US stooge. The Houthis are going to entirely expel Al Qaeda from their region and find and punish those responsible for the two attacks. But they think the attacks were a part of a US plot for controlled chaos.

The Houthis’ chant is Death to America, and has been since the outbreak of the Iraq War in 2003. They insist it is a nuanced political statement. I have always had an issue with the ability of children and teenagers to discern that difference. At the same time, the evolved Zaidi theology of the Houthis (some say regressive but we can say, revivalist) retains the strong prohibitions against targeting civilians and is generally as counter-takfirist as the various sects of mainstream Zaidi theology.

IRIN Checkpoints: Houthi supporters have set up checkpoints on roads connecting the three governorates (ed-Al Jawf, Saada and Amran) and arrested people suspected of being linked to AQAP. The local independent news website al-tagheer.net reported that in retaliation for the suicide attacks, Houthi followers arrested several Sunni scholars in Al-Hamati village, Majaz District, Saada Governorate. The village’s population is known to be affiliated with Salafism, a puritanical creed within Sunni Islam. (Read on …)

Washington Post: In mid-October, several days before authorities intercepted two bombs planted on cargo airliners bound for the United States, Saudi Arabian intelligence officials tipped off their French counterparts about another terrorist plot. An al-Qaeda affiliate had dispatched a cell of North Africans, who crossed the Mediterranean Sea by boat, to carry out an attack in France, according to an Arab intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ..Yet the involvement of North Africans in the French plot – which has not been previously reported – marked the first known instance in which al-Qaeda’s Yemeni arm has partnered with foot soldiers from North Africa. (Read on …)

Summary: The Houthis captured AQAP operatives and Dammaj “students” -perhaps teachers- Hussain al-Tais and Mashhour al Ahdel in al Jawf in August. Al Tais, a former Gitmo detainee, was active in Saada, associated with General Ali Mohsen and Ammar al Waeli and thought to be involved with the kidnapping of the Germans in June 09. The rebels turned the two over to the security forces. AQAP then kidnapped the deputy director of the PSO in Saada, Ali Hosam, and issued a deadline for al Tais’s release. There was no further news on al Hosam. The two suicide attacks this week on the Houthis are thought to be in retaliation for al Tais’s capture. Yesterday AQAP kidnapped the head of the hospital in Saada to bargain for al-Tais’s release. They took him to the Wadi Abu Jubarah al Qaeda training camp. Ali Mohsen negotiated successfully with the AQAP kidnappers for the doctor’s release, based on a promise of the prisoners’ release, according to al Eshteraki and Yemen Online. Or possibly blacklisted weapons dealer Fares Manna did the negotiating, according to AFP via al Sahwa:

“Dhafer al-Shihri was freed after mediation led by a tribal chief, Sheikh Fares Mannaa,” the source told AFP, on condition of anonymity. He said the kidnappers who seized the doctor on Sunday had agreed to the release after a pledge that one of the jailed men, Abdullah al-Dibai, held for more than a year on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda, would be freed…

“The kidnappers drove the hostage to the region of Wadi al-Ghabara,” 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of Saada, a local official who asked not to be identified told AFP. They had demanded the release of nine members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) imprisoned in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

“Among them are Saleh al-Tyss (ed- a/k/a Hussain al Tais) and Abdullah al-Ahdal (ed- a/k/a Mashhour al Ahdal per an earlier AQAP statement), two leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula held in Yemen, and Saleh al-Shihri, another AQAP leader jailed in Saudi Arabia,” the local official added….

Tension has been rife between the Shiite rebels and AQAP in northern Yemen since the rebels detained five Al-Qaeda members whom they handed over to Yemeni authorities over the past two weeks.

Also the doctor in an interview after his release reports seeing three other kidnapped Yemenis, including a military officer, so that’s a hopeful indication of the fate of kidnapped PSO Commander Hosam.

(Read on …)

Another non-surprise, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry denies the cables are accurate:

Yemen’s stances obvious, WikiLeaks memos do not concern it-Yemen FM
Wednesday, 01-December-2010
Almotamar.net – An official source at the Yemeni Foreign Ministry has commented on the documents leaked by WikiLeaks site and what it publishes in a number of newspapers about Yemen by saying that what came in those documents on what was discussed between Yemeni officials and the American side was not considered accurate and true reporting of what had actually been exchanged in those meetings. (Read on …)

The state of Yemen is denying this incident occurred.

Fears Reemerge as Blast Pulverizes Terrorist Body into Pieces in South
Yemen Post: A terrorist was killed and two others including a taxi driver were injured when the terrorist exploded before he could put an explosive device at a police station in Yemen’s business capital of Aden. An independent source said the terrorist took a taxi early on Sunday morning, about 1:00 am, and headed carrying the bomb to the Al-Mimdara police station. (Read on …)

I don’t know about this, it depends on which website and other variables.

WaPo: Al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing killing Shiite tribesmen in northern Yemen. In a statement appearing Sunday on extremist websites, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula described the Shiites as “despicable plants” to be uprooted, according to the SITE Intelligence Unit, which monitors such sites.

In this case, the only thing that would be worse than a false flag attack (al Qaeda as a deniable proxy) is a real attack, but AQAP is insane if they think they can win against the Houthis. The targeting of the al Ghadeer procession and the convoy en route to Badr al Din’s funeral, beyond being horrific, is also insulting on a deep level and in a personal way to Abdel Malik. And the Houthis would be at a tactical disadvantage if they face continued attacks in that they don’t target civilians, and they won’t retaliate in kind, but that may be a strong strategic advantage. This makes no sense on AQAP’s part to open up a new front now. Maybe the Houthi control of some areas of Saada and al Jawf is diminishing AQAP’s capacity, especially with their operational focus on Saudi Arabia and cross border business enterprises.

Reuters:Nov 28 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s regional wing has claimed responsibility for a car bombing that killed at least 23 Shi’ites in northern Yemen and threatened more attacks, according to a statement posted on the Internet on Sunday. “The mujahideen … decided to begin with this martyrdom-seeking operation in defence of the honour of our Prophet Mohammad … and in defence of our Sunni brothers,” Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said in the statement posted on Islamic websites….The al Qaeda statement, dated Nov. 25, said the group had formed special units to attack the Shi’ite rebels, whom it accused of killing Sunnis, destroying their homes and forcing them out of areas under rebel control.

Update: well its the same stationary as the AQAP letter setting the timeline for the release of Hussain al Tais…

al Masdar Online: Announced what is known as al-Qaeda in the Arab fault responsibility for a suicide attack targeting Shi’ite al-Jawf province in northern Yemen last Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding others. (Read on …)

The Houthis are doing their own investigation of the suicide attacks which they say points to sheiks in Amran, recently visited and paid by the new US Ambassador. It shows how isolated and out of touch the Houthis are–many have never been out of Saada, much less Yemen. They are out of touch with reality as well as the broader world.After years of chanting “Death to America,” the movement seems more immature, paranoid and conspiracy minded than ever, not ready for prime time at all. Its thoroughly reckless to charge the US Ambassador with paying tribal sheiks to murder worshipers and mourners. “Dismayed” is one of those words the US State Department uses when it is really bothered.

CRI
The U.S. embassy in Yemen on Sunday denied allegations that the U.S. government was behind last week’s twin bomb attacks on the Houthi-led Shiite rebel followers in north Yemen, which left dozens of people killed and injured.

“The Houthi media office claimed that the U.S. government planned one or both of these events, which took place on Nov. 24 and 26,” the embassy said in a press release posted Sunday on its website.

“The U.S. embassy was dismayed to learn that the Houthi media office made such ridiculous and baseless allegations. These claims dishonor the families in north Yemen who lost their family members and friends in the twin suicide bomber attacks,” it said. (Read on …)

That’s damned straight, and I love the Guardian’s headline: The internet’s cyber radicals: heroes of the web changing the world The article profiles Walid al Saqqaf, former editor of the Yemen Times and the creator of Yemen Portal, a site which bypasses the government’s internet censorship in Yemen, aggregates news stories on Yemen, has a feature to automatically translate Arabic articles to English and publishes the full content of the websites blocked in Yemen. Then for kicks he invented Al Kasir “the circumventor,” a downloadable application which works globally to bypass censorship. Nice. Maybe that makes him a cyber radical but without queston, Walid al Saqqaf is a hero who changed the world for the better.

A generation of political activists have been transformed by new tools developed on the internet. Here, a leading net commentator profiles seven young radicals from around the world….

WALID AL-SAQAF – YEMEN PORTAL

The 37-year old Yemeni activist is the creator of Yemen Portal and of software used to circumvent firewalls.

What is Yemen Portal? (Read on …)