Armies of Liberation

The post was bumped because the suicide attack today may be in retaliation for the Houthis capture of Ali Hussain al Tais and other al Qaeda operatives in Saada, which prompted the al Qaeda kidnapping of Sa’ada PSO deputy Ali Abdul Hosam. Maybe. (The regime’s counter-spin was that al Tais, a former Gitmo detainee surrendered.) What it feels like is the bombing of the al Salman mosque which precipitated the fifth Sa’ada war and the kidnapping of the western medical workers, which precipitated the sixth.

Original: In an overt al Qaeda attack on Yemeni civilians, a suicide car bomb targeted an al Ghadeer procession in al Jawf, Yemen. Fatalities are estimated at 24 including two children and a Sheik in his 80’s. The Saada Wars began in 2004 between the al Qaeda infested Yemeni military and a small group of Shia rebels. The sixth war ended in a truce early this year. Hundreds of thousands of Saada residents are still displaced by the fighting, and many are in al Jawf. Al Ghadeer day, a mainstream Shia holiday, was outlawed in Yemen from 2005 through 2008 and many were arrested for their religious observances. Last year some boys lighting firecrackers (a traditional means of celebrating) were arrested in Sana’a. This year Abdelmalik al Houthi issued a statement urging worshipers to take part in celebrations and to conserve their bullets, and not fire into the air.

I’m curious if this bomb matches any other al Qaeda car bombs including the September 2006 twin attacks on the oil installations, the July 2007 al Qaeda attack on the tourists in Marib, the August 2008 car bombing in Sayoun and the September 2008 attack on the US embassy.

An outbreak of intense clashes near the Saudi border between the Houthis and “pro-government tribes” was already straining the truce. While all of al Qaeda’s tactics are deplorable, targeting people who are going to pray is particularly repugnant. This is the first time there has been an open al Qaeda attack on the Houthis, normally they pretend to be soldiers or tribal volunteers. In this case it may be the inverse, soldiers pretending to be al Qaeda. All the lines become blurred in Sa’ada. Unfortunately there are plenty of brainwashed teen-agers to deploy as suicide bombers.

Update: the Houthis blame the US for the crime, seriously. See statement and article below. In another statement to the WaPo, they suspect al Qaeda, but the Houthis think that al Qaeda is a CIA proxy so the statements are not contradictory.

Update 2, 24 dead including two children, CNN: Almasmari said he had spoken to government officials who blamed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni wing of the network calls itself. The officials declined to be named, he said, saying they were not authorized to speak to the media. Almasmari said AQAP recently said the procession was a legitimate target for attack.

Update 3: In retaliation for the Houthis capturing several of the al Tais in August. The Houthis turned them over to the security forces. Al Qaeda then captured the deputy PSO chief in Sa’ada and issued a 48 hour deadline in September. Since then nothing.

YemenOnline.Nov24,2010 – No one claimed immediate responsibility but a tribal leader told Yemen media that Al Qaeda carried out the attack as retaliation against the Houthis for detaining five Al Qaeda operatives earlier this year.The explosion -– believed to have been detonated by a suicide bomber in a car -– targeted Shiite tribesmen on their way to a holy festival, known as Ghadeer, in Jawf province south of the Saudi border. As many as 30 people were injured….Local sources said Islamic militants were likely behind the attack: “Al Qaeda affiliates believe that celebration of Al Ghadeer is not Islamic. The sources said Al Qaeda repeatedly issued fatwas that Al Ghadeer is ‘Bedah’, not (a) truly Islamic occasion to celebrate.”

AFP: SANAA — A car bomb struck a religious procession in a Shiite rebel bastion of north Yemen on Wednesday, killing 17 people and rattling a fragile truce with the government, a rebel spokesman and a tribal chief said.

“Seventeen people were killed and 15 wounded in the car bombing that targeted a Shiite procession in Al-Jawf province,” rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told AFP by telephone.

Abdulsalam said the attack targeted the faithful who were preparing to mark Al-Ghadeer, the day on which Shiites commemorate the anointment of Ali, one of the key figures of their faith, as successor to the Prophet Mohammed. The anniversary has long been a source of contention between the Sunni and Shiite branches of the faith and a tribal leader in the province told AFP that the bombing was the work of a Sunni militant loyal to Al-Qaeda.

“A suicide bomber driving a four-wheel drive vehicle blew himself up alongside the procession,” the tribal chief said.

“Among the dead was provincial tribal chief Hussein bin Ahmed bin Hadhban and his son,” he added.

Other tribal sources warned that the death toll was likely to rise. One told AFP it “could reach 30.”

Yemen is the ancestral homeland of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and has been a growing focus for the operations of his worldwide jihadist network sparking a sharp increase in US military aid.

The mountains in the west of Al-Jawf province and neighbouring Saada have been a stronghold of Zaidi Shiite rebels in the uprising they have been waging against the Sanaa government on and off for the past six years.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday that there had been an “alarming escalation” in fighting in the region, despite a truce signed between the rebels and Sanaa in February.

The agency said that aid agencies and witnesses had reported that clashes between the rebels and pro-government tribes had erupted in Saada province on November 13.

“At least 20 people have been killed reportedly and others wounded over the past 10 days in the worst violence in northern Yemen since the signing of the ceasefire in February,” UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said, speaking before the latest unrest.

Sahwa Net- Official spokesman of the Houti rebels Mohammad Abdul-Salam has accused U.S.-Israeli intelligence of al-Jawaf incident in which over 20 Houthi rebels were killed while they were on their way to attend a Shiite religious ceremony, Eid Al-Ghadir.

“Probe evidence indicates that U.S. Israeli intelligence activities were behind al-Jawf incident” Abdul-Salam told Sahw Net.

“The aim of the incident to provoke sectarian tensions and end the celebrations of religious occasions” added he.

from the Houthis: Subject: Clarification on celebrating the bombing of the long-Ghadir in m
‫ clarification about the bombing of the celebrating in the long-Ghadeer al-Jawf province

Site supporters of God | | Media Office

In the name of God the Merciful

On the morning of this day, 18 days of Dhul Hijjah 1431 H celebrated sons of the northern governorates of Yemen on the occasion of Eid Ghadir (the day the state), religious occasion celebrated by the Sons of Yemen since the last hundred years.

In (al-Jawf province), while a group of people in the region on its way to the celebration of Ghadeer to the scene prepared for the celebration of intercepted the convoy car-bomb exploded next to him after which he fell to the number of deaths and injuries among citizens.

We stress indicators and through learned through investigation that behind this incident, the criminal activity the American and Israeli intelligence and the criminal aggression carries the style and method of the U.S. seeking to create sectarian problems of carrying and sectarian dimensions of being the first beneficiary of all considerations.

And that this crime is seeking to stop the religious events that develop the political awareness of the risk experienced by the major Arab and Islamic nation, and create chaos and worry to the security of people and the targeting of their lives as Muslims.

We call on the Yemeni society with all its political and social components condemn the crime and that everyone must bear its responsibility in the defense of the same crime that targets Muslim Yemeni people.

We offer our condolences to all the victims who were killed in this heinous crime and we ask God a speedy recovery for the rest of the injured and no strength except in Allah Almighty.

Information Office to Mr. / Abdul-Malik Badr Eddin al
June 18 is the argument / 1431

YO had a good write up:

Yemen – A Yemeni tribal leader said that al-Qaeda was behind the suicide car bombing which killed more than 20 tribesmen loyal to the al-Houthi Shiite rebels early Wednesday in the eastern province of al-Jawf.
Al-Qaeda has taken revenge for five of its members who were arrested by the al-Houthi rebels in a check point in the areas under their control earlier this year, according to the tribal leader who asked not to be named.
The tribal leader said last August the al-Houthi rebels had arrested five al-Qaeda suspects including Ali Hussein Abdullah Al Tais, originally from Sa’ada, who was released from Guantanamo. They were handed over to the government.
“They were handed over first to leader of the al-Houthis in Zaher area of al-Jawf, Abu Saleh, who handed them over to the government,” the tribal leader said over phone from al-Matoon, the area where suicide bombing took place this morning.
A few weeks before the suicide bombing, a statement attributed to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was distributed in the al-Jawf areas warning from cooperating with the al-Houthi rebels.
AQAP said in the statement that al-Houthi rebels are agents of Shiite Iran and that they are the enemies of Muslims and not the enemies of America and Israel as they claim in their slogans.
The spokesmen for the al-Houthis Mohammed Abdul Salam said on Wednesday evening that American and Israeli intelligence were behind the suicide car bombing in al-Jawf, after he declined to accuse any one immediately after the attack.
The Yemeni government condemned the attack in a statement describing it contradictory to values of Islam and values of freedom and democracy.
Earlier in the day, at least 23 tribesmen loyal to the al-Houthi Shiite rebels were killed and about 30 were injured when a suicide bomber, believed to be an al-Qaeda member, detonated a bomb in his car in front of a large motor procession with hundreds of tribesmen on board in al-Metoon area of the eastern province of al-Jawf.
The tribesmen were on their way to celebrate the Shiite holiday of al-Ghadeer, in Zaher district north of the al-Jawf area, close to Sa’ada.
Two local sources from al-Jawf and Marib said al-Qaeda was likely behind the attack, al-Qaeda affiliates believe that celebration of al-Ghadeer is not Islamic. “Al-Qaeda repeatedly issues fatwas stating that al-Ghadeer is ‘Bedah’, not a truly Islamic occasion to celebrate.
Al-Ghadeer is a day celebrated annually by Shiites to commemorate the day when the Prophet Mohammed, announced that Ali bin Abi Taleb would be his successor when he dies, as Shiites believe.
The sources said 18 bodies were identified and others are still unknown.
Two tribal leaders loyal to the al-Houthi rebels were killed in the attack: Hussein Hadhban and two sons of Sheikh Abdullah Abdan.
The car bomb targeted the vehicle of Sheikh Abdullah Abdan but he survived because he was not in the car, the sources said.
The celebration has not taken place in the wake of the attack.
The spokesman of the al-Houthi rebels, Mohammed Abdul Salam said in press statements that 15 were killed and 30 others were injured in the attack.
Earlier this year, tribesmen from Marib province where al-Qaeda is believed to be hiding, under the leadership of the tribal leader Qasem al-Mashan announced their loyalty to the rebels leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
Before the attack, the spokesman of the al-Houthi rebels Mohammed Abdul Salam said that security forces were quiet and helpful with them while they were celebrating the eve of al-Ghadeer day.
The al-Houthi Shiite rebels celebrated the eve by setting fires to tires and firing small arms into the air almost all night. In a statement issued by their leader, the rebels were told to save their bullets for hard times and not waste them in celebratory gunfire.