Local reports from Abyan, Yemen indicate Nabi directed by presidential son, Ahmed Saleh; new training camp
The group of state jihaddists in Abyan is headed by Khalidabdul Nabi. Nabi has very strong links to the National Security and regularly works as a mercenary according to other jihaddists, prominent politicians, activists, Yemeni political analysts, local witnesses and all known open source documentation, his own interviews and history going back a decade. The al Qaeda uprising in Abyan is directed and funded by Yemeni counter-terror chiefs, Ammar Ali Saleh and Ahmed Ali Saleh. This new reporting dovetails with the earlier report by Abdullah al Asnag which found that many of the supposed jihaddists are members of the National Security.
Ammar, the de facto head of the Yemeni National Security, was injured in an “auto accident” last Wednesday and taken to al Urdy mil camp hospital. He reportedly has a serious head injury.
One local observer reports the sequence of events as follows: the terrorist group in Abyan is a combination of Ahmed Ali and Amar Ali’s al Qaeda forces plus al Zindani’s jihaddi forces and some of Ali Mohsen’s al Qaeda force; this grouping of so-called “al Qaeda” was attacked (and partially defeated) by the defected military coalition led by General Fisal Ragab along with locals. A division of the army under Ali Mohsen’s command is currently engaged in the battle against militants in the provincial capital of Zinjibar, “to show America that we are serious in the fight against Al Qaeda,” said his spokesman, Abdulghani al-Shumeeri.Then General Ragab’s force, after engaging the militants, was attacked by the government’s military force, naval and air, and the National Security, prompting the withdrawal of Ragab’s forces. The state forces attacked the defected military and southern forces which earlier attacked the “al Qaeda” militants in Zinjibar. ( Video 6/6/11 in Zinjibar shows several dead soldiers lying in the street but its unclear which side they were on.)
New training camp: Witnesses have reported activity at Qauarir Mountain at Moalla, Aden by the al Zindani jihaddi force, where they started some sort of training comp with the knowledge of the government. The phrase “al Zindani jihaddists” is used by many in the south and I am not clear if they are referring to al Iman students or the old school remnants of the Abyan Aden Islamic Army or a combination of both. However through the years there have been several credible reports of new training camps established in the south under the noses (and with the aid of) of the state security forces. Another state operated al Qaeda camp is in wadi Abu Jubarah in Saada.
The real AQAP, al Qaeda of al Wahishi, Awlaki and al Reimi is distinct and, according to some, hasn’t moved, although this interview indicates indicates Awlaki left Shibuya on orders from the authorities, probably right before the US air strike.
AQAP has not disowned the actions of the state jihaddists, as usual, likely because the retention of Saleh is in AQAP’s interests as well. Several terror incidents in the last years were attributed to al Qaeda but likely were false flag operations, carried out by state jihaddists under the supervision of the Yemeni security/intelligence including attacks on foreign nationals.
Meanwhile the residents are paying the price of the these games, with large numbers of citizens displaced from Zinjibar and al Hota. Some men have stayed behind to protect their homes. Photos and video here of the aftermath of the bombing in Ja’ar. AFP reports Yemeni government statements on the battles, over 100 military deaths, an army pull back, as well as missed airstrikes, destroyed homes and civilian casualties since hostilities began three weeks ago.
Medical sources say most of the 200 non-military killed were residents, not militants and not al Qaeda, the National ;
Government raids and US drone attacks in Yemen are focusing on Islamic militant targets in Abyan province, ignoring the more dangerous Al Qaeda stronghold of Shabwa province, a senior defence ministry official said yesterday.
Among the targets has been the Jaar farm of Khaled Abdul Nabi, considered one of the most powerful Islamic militants in Yemen since the early 1990s, according to the interior ministry.
“More than 85 per cent of the fighters killed in Abyan over the last three weeks have not been Al Qaeda members. Militants in Abyan and other areas in the south are well-known Jihadists, but we cannot prove their links to Al Qaeda,” said the official. Last week, the interior ministry said it arrested 10 militants in Aden believed to be fighters with links to Mr Nabi. Qasem Bin Hadi, head of security in Zinjibar, Abyan, said that the majority of the militants killed were terrorists.
“Who said that only Al Qaeda is a terrorist group in Yemen? These militants are causing as much problems for Yemen as Al Qaeda,” Mr Hadi said, adding that Abyan has turned into a ghost town and that clashes between government forces and militants are non-stop.
