Armies of Liberation

The rebels deny kidnapping the foreigners, say security’s announcement of “hunting” for the victims is a sham.

The government’s massive campaign to blame the rebels lacks authenticity, considering the chrages were made with no investigation or proof. The three day delay in expanding the search beyond Sa’ada is bizarre.

Earth Times: A rebel group in Yemen which denies any role in recent abductions there has charged via a statement on their website that government efforts to save the hostages are a sham. The rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi alleged that two suspects had been tortured by Yemen’s political security forces into uttering a false claim that the rebels were to blame for the June 12 abduction of nine westerners, of whom three were then murdered.

Al-Houthi’s Shiite rebels, who are based in Saada province, put the statement online Thursday evening.

They commented that the likelihood of finding the German family of five and a British engineer were low, because the abductors would fear capture. No one has claimed responsibility for the crime.

The rebels also quoted local eyewitnesses saying that there had never been a systematic search of the region where the westerners were abducted or of the valley where the bodies of three murdered women were found.

AQAP are insisting robustly that they knew the route of the Korean investigators though intensive surveillance. Otay AQAP! Discounting of course the logical and widespread assumption that the terrorists were tipped off, ie- elements in the Yemeni security knew in advance of the plot and provided the route of the motorcade. t gets flakier- the youth wandered around Sana’a for months looking to hook up with Wahishi.

Also the other thing to note, tangentially, is the journalist Abdel-Elah Haidar noted in the article as one who interviewed Wahishi previously is now insisting that AQAP would not have carried out the kidnapping of the medical workers in Sa’ada because it is against their principles. (Killing women like the Belgiams tourists in Hadramout is apparently less of an offense than kidnapping them.) I dont think Haidar would be taking such a strong position in his analysis (which was published in News Yemen) without there being something behind it, one way or another. From Al Masdar:

Al Qaeda announces military intelligence security information on the preparation of new processes and the implementation of Hadramout and Sana’a
المصدر أون لاين - محمد العزكي Source Online - Mohammed Aezzki

كشف تنظيم القاعدة عن معلومات أمنية عسكرية جديدة حول منفذي العمليتين الانتحاريتين في حضرموت وصنعاء ضد السياح والمحققين الأمنيين الكوريين في مارس الماضي، مستهدفا سمعة الأجهزة الأمنية اليمنية وإفشال الحكومة اقتصاديا. Detection al-Qaeda military security of the information on the perpetrators of a new double suicide bombing in Hadramout and Sana’a against the security of tourists and Korean investigators last March, the reputation of the security target and the failure of the Yemeni government economically.

(Read on …)

No news on the six missing westerners. Fighting reduced, army moving. US denies claims of mapping project. 1200 remain in jail despite Saleh’s order to the contrary and the truce agreement.

Yemen Times

SA’ADA, July 1 — The Sa’ada governorate has been relatively calm for the past few days, after a recent series of armed conflicts between the state and the Houthi movement.

(Read on …)

The South Koreans are looking to sell, if I recall correctly.

nasdaq

SANAA, Yeman (AFP)–Unknown attackers blew up an oil pipeline in southeast Yemen operated by a South Korean firm, causing a leak, police and industry officials said Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday night in a region of Shabwa province that produces 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

Local police chief Saïd Saleh al-Souleimany told reporters that the assailants planted an explosive device under the pipeline and detonated it from a distance.

Technicians were sent to repair the damage, which he described as not serious, after the unclaimed attack.

al Jazeera: Talkshow host: Ahmad Zeidan

Guest: Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the commander-in-chief of al Qaeda in Afghanistan

Date of Show: June 21, 2009

Ahmad Zeidan:

Yes. A few days ago, statements from al-Qaeda in Yemen were published saying that they supported the secession, the secession of the south. Do you look at these statements? How do you see them?

COMMANDER MUSTAFA ABU AL-YAZID:

We did not look at this new news, and we think that the brothers do not support this, we think. The fundamental is the unity of the Muslim Ummah, and the Islamic states and everything that unified the Ummah as much as possible, because this is in the interests of Islam and the Muslims. We do not support the secession, and this does not concern us much, because the case is the case, but in the end, Islamic rule will come and will govern the united country instead of a country divided.

Earlier reporting here.

The Yemen Times gets specific on the timeline, details and geography of the kidnapping and the subsequent events.

Amidst false rumors of progress in releasing kidnapped foreigners, Houthis warn of a sixth war in three days

SANA’A, June 24 – Shiekh Saleh bin Shage’ deputy chief of Waela Tribes at the Yemeni Saudi borders explained that the surrendering of two of his tribes men by his brother Rashad to the Yemeni security in Sa’ada has nothing to do with the missing six foreigners kidnapped on Friday June 12.

“It is a hideous crime that we all condemn, but the two men have nothing to do with it,” he said. “In fact, being easily surrendered to the security without any resistance proves that if they had anything to hide they would have fled.”

Mushin Al-Tam and Hassan Kazman, suspected of involvement in the killing and kidnapping of foreigners were were in the remote area of Nushoor while Yemeni security forces were hunting them. When the two heard they were sought after, they reported to their sheikh’s house, proclaiming their innocence. Waela leaders asked them to surrender to the state and they obliged willingly, according to Bin Shage’.

Most of the locals in Waela belong to the Ismaili sect, which is the second largest part of the Shiite community

(Read on …)

There’s 40 rounded up today and these two who are denying any connection. Weapons dealers and drug smugglers.

News Yemen Two men suspected of kidnapping nine foreign hostages and killing three women of the group have been handed over to the security authorities in Sa’ada, a tribal source told NewsYemen.

Waela tribe leader Rashid bin Shaje said the suspected, identified as Muhsin Attam and Hassan Kazman, have denied the kidnapping and killing of foreigners but he has extradited them to the security.

“The first one was an employee in the Economic Corporation’s office in Sa’ada, but he was fired, and the other one escaped from the military service in Hadramout,” a special source told NewsYemen.

The source added that the two suspects are also charged of smuggling drugs and providing al-Houthis and the army with weapons.

The kidnappers handed over the hostages to a tribal leader in Arrozamat area which is under the control of al-Houthi field leader Abdullah Arrozami and headed for Waela tribe where they asked the protection of Sheikh Shaje, one of Waela chieftains.

The office of al-Houthi denied that hostages are in Arrozamat. “Abdullah Arrozami is now some kilometers farm from his home area,” said the source in a call with NewsYemen.

Asked whether hostages are still alive, Sheikh Shaje said he can not talk until investigations with the two suspects are completed.

Local sources said Yemeni security forces and intelligence services continue searching for the six hostages, checking up passersby and confiscating cameras and tape recorders.

Yes, I know. There are several military camps that train jihaddists. The military built a camp to train jihaddists in the mountains near Ja’ar.

The following is an important article from al Estreraki that also references the state jihaddists fighting the Saada War. Also apparently the German and British investigators aren’t getting full cooperation from Saleh’s regime, just like the Cole.

The camp in the area between the Center and the Directorate of epaulette Abu Jabara Al near the administrative border of the province of Al-Jawf

وهو في الأصل معسكر رسمي للقوات المسلحة اليمنية تم التخلي عنه ولكن ظل معظم “ضباطه وجنوده” من العائدين من أفغانستان والذين تم استيعابهم في وحدات القوات المسحة بعد حرب صيف 1994م It was originally an official camp of the armed forces of Yemen has been abandoned, but under most of the “officers and soldiers” of the returnees from Afghanistan, who have been accommodated in the units of troops after the war reflects the summer of 1994

(Read on …)

Oh thats rich and would be funny if we weren’t talking about MURDER and SIX MISSING PEOPLE. During the last five years of war, there was the intense sectarian rhetoric coming out of the Yemeni military. The Yemeni military fatwa’ed the rebels officially. And Ali Mohsen’s preachers did in fact instigate against both the aid workers and the rebels.

YEMEN OBSERVER (owned by President Saleh’s press secretary, Faris al Sanabani) - A Houthi spokesman denied that they received any of the foreigners kidnapped on June 12 more than a week ago saying that these news are baseless.

Some tribal sources said that the six hostages are in the hands of the Houthis, said MP Osman Hussein Mujali for the constituency 262.

A tribal source said today that the six hostages, which consist of five Germans and a British are alive and they are handed over to one of the Houthi leaders.

A source told AFP that the hostages who were among the nine who were kidnapped, were handed to Abdullah al-Rizame a Houthi field leader and now they are in al-Rizmat which a Houthi dominated area in Sada.

According to the same source, the Houthis identified the kidnappers to be Muhsen al-Tam and Fuaz Murki, who is thought to be from the Houthis. Some security sources said that there is a potential and possible alliance between al-Qaeda and al-Houthi rebels as both seek the same think that is creating chaos and instability in Yemen.

Rebels response: Its a frame-up.

According to our own in the province of Saada that the named / Mohsen full
وآخر معه والذين تناولت بعض وسائل الإعلام أسمائهما كونهما And another with him and who addressed some of the media names being
مطلوبين في قضية الاختطاف قد سلم نفسه إلى الشيخ / فايز Wanted in the abduction issue has turned himself in to Sheikh / Fayez
العوجري . Alauajjri.
والتام هو أحد عناصر الشيخ / العوجري ومن المقربين إليه And full-Sheikh is one of the elements / Alauajjri is close to
كما أبدت مصادر سياسية تخوفها من أن العوجري يسعى إلى توظيف Political sources have also expressed concern that seeks to recruit Alauajjri
القضية لتصفية حسابات قديمة ، وأن ما تردد من أن التام مطلوب The case to settle old accounts, and rumors that the total required
هي مسرحية هزلية تخدم العوجري وأهدافه السياسية وحساباته Is a farce Alauajjri and serve the political objectives and its
المعروفة . Known.

First an oped from the Yemen Post: Government Lying to the Media

Since the kidnapping of the group of nine foreigners took place last week, the government has been denying that the remaining six missing are dead. Independent and official sources in Sa’ada reported that the bodies of the foreigners, who the government claims are still missing, were seen dead in the streets of Sa’ada.

What would make the government hide the news that all the foreigners are dead? (ed- I dont agree that this is necessarily the case, but the Yemeni government is for sure obfuscating .) The strategy the government is using is to wait until the crisis is given less media attention and then announces the death of all the foreigners, therefore, making it less of international news.

That is the same reason the government blamed Houthi militants for the attacks and not tribesmen or Al-Qaeda. Both have histories of kidnapping and killing foreigners, but the government blamed Houthis because it would be more of a local problem.

If Al-Qaeda was blamed, the country would automatically be given international media attention, and western countries would immediately announce that Yemen is a safe haven for Al-Qaeda.

Now thats a damned good question right there, why would the Yemeni government lie to the media and to the international community? The confusion, contradictory statements and the strong push to blame the rebels has not aided the investigation. There’s quite a few possibilities.

1- the drug smugglers are usually regime affiliated, and the Houthis have hindered their trade since the cease fire when the rebels assumed control of some areas. The first possibility is: regime affiliated drug dealers kidnapped the medical workers, which was the first story on the streets, in a bid to restart the war or to negotiate for a seized drug shipment.

2- the Salafi mosque preachers (who were actively instigating against the medical workers) were doing so at the behest of the regime itself (just like the preachers agitate against the southerners etc.)

3- with the harshly critical international reports about the government denying aid groups access to internally displaced persons in Sa’ada, the regime is trying to get the aid groups to leave voluntarily. Why the Sa’ada region is closed off to all media and outsiders since 2004 may be due to several factors- the regime affiliated al Qaeda presence, the government attacks on civilians, criminal activities and smuggling into Saudi and the other things in Sa’ada they wish to hide.

4- the non-blaming of al Qaeda may be related to the fact that the al Qaeda in Sa’ada are all working for and/or associated with the regime and Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, so even if they did it, the regime would try to hide it, as opposed to other situations where the regime blames al Qaeda as a strawman just to get international support. I know the world is mesmerized by that al Qaeda bit of bling known as al Wahishi; however, the extremists in Sa’ada are not under al Wahishi, its a distinct group (not just fighters) and well entrenched and supported.

5- the blaming of the Houthis would take some pressure off the Yemeni regime when they resume the war. If the rebels are cast as such inhumane creatures as to murder nurses in cold blood, then few will care when the Yemeni military starts bombing villages and blockading food again. The biggest kidnapper historically in Yemen by far is the Yemeni government, but often they operate by proxy.

6- the Yemeni government lies so much, they don’t know how to tell the truth. Seriously there hasn’t been a fully truthful Yemeni government statement about the Sa’ada War, the Southern Mobility, the attacks on journalists, the budget, etc. for years. Al Qaeda operatives are out of jail when they are supposed to be in, announced as being hunted when in fact they receive military salaries, announced as dead when they are in fact living. You have to read the government newspaper standing on your head for it to make sense.

7- it was well planned and with all the obfuscating, the regime is giving cover, in which case the hostages would be alive, possibly in Saudi Arabia or with some drug smugglers.

Time will tell. God protect them.

Its not beyond the realm of possibility that whoever kidnapped the medical workers would be willing to give them back once that becomes to the strong advantage of Saleh’s regime. They could be somewhere with some rather confused persons who didnt expect this level of blowback. However, it seems rather likely that someone in the Yemeni government knows more than they are saying.

Updates below the fold.

Reporter Hamoud Mansour is close to the PSO National Security and is the AFP correspondent to whom Islamic Jihad of Yemen emailed their statement after the US embassy bombing, as opposed to you know, a Yemeni and less Crusader-ish media outlet.

In this report, AFP says the rebels have the six hostages alive. And that would be such a beautiful thing, but the rebels are denying it. An anonymous tribal source and an anonymous Yemeni official are confirming the rebels have them. However, in Yemen the government lies more than it tells the truth, so its harder to assign credibility to their statements like it would with a normal, non-compulsive liar, type government. AFP

Six foreign hostages alive in Yemen: tribal source
By Hammoud Mounassar

SANAA (AFP) — Six foreign hostages kidnapped this month in a restive area of northern Yemen are alive and being held by Shiite rebels, a tribal source said on Monday, after three other hostages were found dead last week.

“The six hostages were found alive and handed over to (rebel) commander Abdullah al-Rizani,” the tribal source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“They are currently in the Ruzmat area” of Saada province, the centre of the Shiite rebellion in the mountains near the Saudi border, he added.

The source said that the rebels had identified the kidnappers as being two of their own fighters — Mohsen al-Tam and Fawaz Morqi.

A senior Yemeni security official said he too had information that the hostages were alive and in the hands of the rebels.”The rebels are refusing to hand over either the hostages or their kidnappers,” the official told AFP.

(Read on …)

This would be funny if we weren’t talking about a murderous band of religious fanatics. A top leader in al Qaeda says the regime is in a campaign to fool the international community. False hunting, some attacks, blah blah. Sounds familiar, yes? We’ll add this guy to the list of the wide variety of Yemenis from top politicians to al Qaeda operatives who make the same charges.

I think that premise is pretty much understood and the next hurdle of comprehension is- how high does it go? I’ve actually had several Western people tell me they think Ghalib al Qamish is clean. Seriously.

Oh and al Qaeda don’t really support dis-unification.

the third man in the al-Qaeda, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid denies support

فك الأرتباط بين اليمن الجنوبي واليمن الشمالي . Disengagement between South Yemen and North Yemen.

في مقابلة مساء هذا اليوم في قناة الجزيرة مع مسؤول In an interview this evening on Al Jazeera with a

تنظيم القاعدة والرجل الثالث مصطفى أبواليزيد Al-Qaida and the third man, Mustafa Obualezid

ينفي أن القاعدة تأييد فك الأرتباط بين اليمن الشمالي واليمن الجنوبي . Denies that the rule (AQ) to support the disengagement between North Yemen and South Yemen.

ولكنة يفيد بأن اللي حاصل في اليمن تحصيل حاصل كما أن القاعدة And but that in Yemen, which holds the collection also holds that the rule

قد شاركت في حرب 1994م الى جانب القوات الشمالية Had participated in the war in 1994, along with Northern troops

لكن عناصر القاعدة بعد هزيمة الجنوب في حرب 1994م But after the defeat of al-Qaeda in the south war in 1994

قد تعرضت لبعض الحملات من قبل نظام صنعاء وخاصة العناصر الجنوبية Had been exposed to campaigns by the Sanaa regime, especially the South

الذي كانت تحلم في حكم الجنوب وقيام الخلافة أو الأمارة الأسلامية على الطريقة الأفغانية و بعد أن Which was in the dream of ruling the South and the establishment of the Caliphate or Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on the way and after

شاركت عناصر القاعدة مشاركة فعالة في أحتلال الجنوب مع نظام اليمني القبلي الزيدي الطائفي Al-Qaeda members participated actively involved in the occupation of the south with the Yemeni tribal sectarian Zeidi

لكن يظهر أن فكر القاعدة لا ينسجم مع فكر الطائفة الزيدية الرافضي But it appears that al Qaeda is not in line with the thinking of the Zaidi community Alravdi

وهذا سر الصراع بينهما الأساسي والخفي . This is the secret behind the conflict between the statute and the hidden. النظام يقوم أحيانا System is sometimes

ببعض الحملات ضد فلول عناصر القاعدة كونة يعرف أماكن تواجدهم ويعرف أسمائهم ويعمل على Some of the campaigns against the remnants of al-Qaeda from being known whereabouts and know their names and works to

أبتزازهم مستقلا ضعفهم والحملة الدولية ضدهم بأستمرار أن لم ينفذوا بعض العمليات Independent vulnerability and blackmail the international campaign against them that did not consistently carry out some operations

بالتنسيق مع عصابات النظام الفاسد في الجمهورية العربية In coordination with the bands of the corrupt regime in the Arab Republic
اليمنية Yemen
ينسبها الى هذه الجماعات Attributed to these groups

المغرر بها من قبل النظام نفسة ويقتل فيهم أحيانا Fooled by the system itself and sometimes kills them

بهدف أقناع الغرب بأن النظام ضد تنظيم القاعدة . In order to convince the West that the regime against Al-Qaeda.

(Read on …)

Oh come on now, its not a time to be coy. That’s ridiculous, why didn’t they just tell the newspaper? Earth times:

A Shiite rebel group in Yemen said Sunday it had gained “vital clues” that could help identify the kidnappers who are holding a German family and a British engineer in north-western Yemen. Muhammad Abdul-Salam, a spokesman for the al-Houthi rebel group, told the German Press Agency dpa: “We have got vital clues that will help the search for the kidnappers and the hostages.” He said the group’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, “would provide the information if he is asked to do so.”

I thought Elbaneh and that group, the group of young guys, and others were all convicted. Dayani is in Marib and said the security forces did several attacks.

Spaniards’ attackers in Yemen to face court
[20 June 2009]

SANA’A, June 20 (Saba)- The trial of Yemenis accused of attacking a Spanish tourist convoy and killing seven of them along with two Yemeni tourist guides in the eastern province of Mareb, 170 km east of Sana’a, almost two years ago is expected to begin in the next few days.

The Specialized Prosecution on Saturday received the file of the case and immediately started investigating as a prelude to turn over the file to court, a judicial source said.

Three Yemeni nationals including Hamza al-Quaiti, who was a prominent al-Qaeda operative and killed in a security raid against a Tarim terrorist ring last year, and two other fugitives, Amar Ubadah al-Waely and Hamza al-Dhayani, face charges of the attack.

Al-Waely and al-Dhayani are still at large.

Seven Spanish tourists, including six women, and two Yemeni tourist guides were killed in the 2007 car bomb attack which occurred while the people were touring the ancient temple of Sheba Quenn Belquis in Mareb. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. Eight others were injured in the attack, some seriously.

Faris Manaa is a major weapons trafficker, and thats well known. I had first heard of him four years ago though in the context of drug smuggling. He is the head of the governmental committee tasked with maintaining the cease fire. Faris Manaa is also the brother of the governor of Sa’ada, Hassan Manaa.

There was some whole thing where the 26 Septemper (sic), the military’s website, quoted Faris, the head of the reconciliation committee, and the Houthi website then disputed that he had actually made those statements. Now here he is rebutting their rebuttal.

Almotamar.net - Chairman of the presidential committee assigned with establishing peace in the governorate of Saada Sheikh Faris Manaa denied on Saturday the lies reported in al-Houthi website in person of Manaa in that he had not given a statement calling al-Houthi to stop the violations and to meet to what had been agreed on.

Manaa has also mocked those leaks, describing them as abnormal means and wondering by saying,” I don’t know who has given them the right to talk on behalf of me.” He added, “I am alive and any media instrument can talk to me instead of attributing statements in a false manner.”

Sheikh Faris has moreover renewed his call on al-Houthi to stop violations and to be loyal to what has been agreed on recently for the evacuation of the district of Shada and Ghamr and the remaining of the district of Razih that has been agreed of evacuating gunmen from it and ending armed aspects in it.

Referring to the newspaper reported on Friday on the Revolution
19/6/2009م عن مصدر امني في محافظة صعدة قوله (إن متهمين في 19/6/2009 m from the source of security in the governorate of Saada as saying (in that the accused
حادثة الاختطاف هما في مناطق تخضع لسيطرت الحوثيين ) فهو كلام Kidnapping incident in the two regions are controlled Houthis) is the Word
غير صحيح وعار عن الصحة Incorrect and untrue

وهي من ادعاءات السلطة التي لا تملك فيها دليل ولا تستند إلى حقائق وإنما One of the allegations which you do not have evidence, not on the facts, but
محاولة لتضييع الحقيقة وتميعها بمثل هذه الادعاءات الباطلة كون الاختطاف وقع An attempt to miss the truth and Tmiaha such false claims that the kidnapping took place
في منطقة ( غراز) بجوار الأمن السياسي بمدينة صعدة . In the region (Graz) next to the Political Security in Saada.

وبالإشارة إلى ما صرح به / فايز العوجري لموقع 26سبتمبر ( من أن الدلائل تشير Referring to what he said / Fayez Alauajjri for September 26 (the evidence suggests
إلى ضلوع أتباع الحوثي في حادثة الاختطاف ) فهو اتهام باطل والعوجري هو To the involvement of followers in the kidnapping incident Houthi) is null and Alauajjri charge is
المعروف بتآمره وسعيه المتواصل لإشعال الحروب Ptamrh known and their ongoing quest for the outbreak of wars
وهو غير بعيد عن مكان الجريمة التي وجدت بها الجثث بين موقع ( القواري ) Which is not far from the crime scene and found the bodies of the site (Alquari)
العسكري ومنزله بمنطقة (نشور)الخاضعة تحت سيطرته . The military and his home district (resurrection) under control.

المكتب الإعلامي للسيد / عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي Information Office of the Mr. / Abdul-Malik al-Badr al-Din al-Houthi
26/ جماد الثاني 1430 26 / JUMADA II 1430

Yemeni authorities attempt to keep an open mind and fail.

Sana’a, Yemen - Yemeni authorities are considering “all possibilities” as they try to find the kidnappers still holding six foreigners hostage in the north-western part of the country, Interior Minister Mutahar Rashad al-Masri said Saturday. “We are considering all possibilities,” the minister told reporters.

(Read on …)

Considering what happened to the South Korean convoy of officials, (attacked by a suicide bomber), those German and British investigators in Yemen should really keep an eye out and not take the route cleared in advance by the Yemeni government.

How you operate in that kind of enviornment, I don’t know, but in March of this year, there was a follow-on terror attack targeting the South Korean investigators/officials who arrived in Yemen after the murder of the four South Korean tourists. Its just something to keep in mind in the midst of this highly bizarre hunt for the three missing German toddlers, their parents and a British guy. In one scenario, there was a lot of planning involved and it could extend that far.

Apparently, and as promised, the Yemeni government knows the identity of the kidnappers and has released their initials, still blaming Houthi affiliated persons, who have been identified but not captured yet. I hope the kidnappers don’t get killed in a botched shoot-out, ending the prospect of interrogating them. The following from Naba News, government tool:

Security Saada reach important clues about the kidnapping of foreigners
الخميس, 18-يونيو-2009 Thursday, 18 - June -2009
نبأ نيوز- أسرار برس - News report - Secrets of the Press –

كشف مصدر أمني في محافظة صعدة : ان الأجهزة الأمنية توصلت الى معلومات وخيوط مهمة حول جريمة اختطاف الأجانب وقتل ثلاثة منهم في محافظة صعدة. A security source in the governorate of Saada: The security services have reached an important information and clues about the crime of kidnapping of foreigners and killed three of them in the province of Saada.
وقال المصدر ان التحقيقات التي أجرتها أجهزة الأمن توصلت إلى معرفة مشتبهين رئيسيين في جريمة اختطاف وقتل النساء الثلاث , الأول يدعى ( ح . ك ) والثاني يدعى (م , ك ) وهما من أبناء منطقة نشور. The source said that the investigations carried out by the security services had identified two main suspects in the crime of kidnapping and murder of three women, the first called (h. K) and the second-called (m, k) are living in a region of the resurrection.

(Read on …)

Considering the Germans’ kidnapping in Sa’ada has put a new focus on terrorists in northern Yemen, I wanted to clarify the timeline. Al Qaeda made a push into northern Yemen in 2007, according to Saudi intel statements and other reports at the time. Of course they were there before, but in 2007 there was an increase, prompting the Saudis to call Yemen then potentially “the new Afghanistan”. It was an unusual statement for the Saudis if you look closely. You can figure who the Saudi official is. This is in addition to the repeated Saudi reports of training camps in northern Yemen that accompanied the announcements of mass round-ups in Saudi Arabia.

The recent (April?) arrival of foreign fighters in Sa’ada as well as the minor migration from Afghanistan to Yemen noted by the New York Times last week just augmented the numbers. Abdul Rahman al Rashed notes today: There are documented reports confirming that convoys from the Al-Qaeda Organization are moving in large numbers to the northern mountains of Yemen…

Furthermore the Houthis have noted foreign fighters in Sa’ada for years, including many Egyptians, if I recall correctly, among other nationalities. Al Qaeda is and has been well established in northern Yemen for quite some time and it has been an important location within the broader organization (Al Qaeda Central). When you overlay the Sa’ada Wars on the region, its quite interesting. Not to mention the Iraqi Ba’athists incorporated into the Yemeni military in Sa’ada since 2005, which was the year all journalists were excluded from the governorate. The ban on journalists in Sa’ada continues to today.

Alsharq Alwasat via AOLDecember 2007: An official who is a close observer of the Al Qaeda network believes that the organization has begun to shift its activities to Yemen, in addition to its strong presence in Iraq. The movement’s migration from Afghanistan is practically aiming to surround the Gulf region, which Al Qaeda considers its first and last goal….

The aforementioned official believes that Yemen may replace Afghanistan as the incubator to breed, rally and train [terrorists]. In practice, Yemen could become the new Al Qaeda base a label once reserved for Afghanistan…If Al Qaeda has really decided to shift its center and perhaps its headquarters to the mountain peaks of northern Yemen, then we are facing a new challenge and a new phase in combat.

The following excerpt is from an interesting article by Ali Sofan at the Washington Institute that deals with the division of labor between the CIA and FBI on counter-terror cases. And I’m sure thats a relevant topic to many people. But, for me and in terms of Yemen, he also makes an excellent point about the support infrastructure of the jihaddist networks:

An asymmetrical organization cannot survive without a strong support system. The actual bomb placers and suicide bombers are few; they depend, however, on a ring of supporters for money, supplies, safe houses, travel documents, transportation, and other services. The U.S. strategy should aim to decrease the size of this outer ring as the most effective route to combat the most dangerous individuals at the center. The smaller the ring, the more successful the United States will be.

To take it a step further, beyond passports and logistics, in Yemen the government also legitimizes the jihaddist ideology as a weapon to use against its enemies. The “unity brigades” in the south and fatwas against the rebels in the north published by the military undermine the constitutional framework of the state. The government could make a fully legitimate argument against both insurgencies without resorting to religious terminology, but by casting them as “apostates” the regime further entrenches and resonates jihaddist concepts, tactics and worldview. A state sponsored jihad is never a good thing.

Hat tip to the Counter Terrorism Blog, and a fine blog it is.

What the Yemen Times is reporting is a witness who saw the victims with men with long beards, another report of a phone call from the Germans, and the Houthi spokeman Sheik Sabra speculating that Ali Mohen al Ahmar’s intermediary to the jihaddists was involved.

I have to see if this Imam Zuael is the same guy who was previously described as Ali Mohsen’s extremist office manager who fatwa’ed the rebels during a sermon to the soldiers during the 2007 round of fighting.

Also the other news is the doctor in Sa’ada says the women’s bodies were not mutilated. Yemen Times:

SA’ADA, June 17 — Wahabi religious groups were involved in the kidnapping of the nine foreigners in Sa’ada last Friday, which led to three of them being found dead on Monday, according to a local source from Sa’ada who requested to remain anonymous.

The group had been on an outing on a farm in Ghuraz on the outskirts of Sa’ada city on Friday. On their way home, their 4×4 Toyota was intercepted by three armed men with beards in a black Suzuki Grand Vitara.

According to the source, a Yemeni nurse working with four of the kidnapped Germans at Al-Jumhuri Hospital in Sa’ada said she received a call from the Germans as they were harassed by the kidnappers. She reported the attack to the local authority and Houthi leaders. We were not able to contact this lady as she refused to answer the phone.

The bodies of the Korean teacher Young-Sun Ium, 34 and two German nurses Anita Gruenwald, 25, Rita Stumpp, 26 were found by local shepherds on Monday. A German engineer, his wife and their three children as well as the Briton engineer are still missing.

According to Dr. Hamboush Hussein, general director of the Sa’ada Health Office, the dead women were not mutilated. “I had seen the bodies myself and they had several gunshot wounds in the head, chest or back, as if the women were struggling and trying to escape. We found their bodies three days after their death, so they were swollen and somewhat disfigured from being exposed to natural decay in hot weather.”

Houthi spokesperson Saleh Habra speculated that Askar Zu’ael who is a local Wahabi religious leader and imam of a mosque in the Ghiraz area where the foreigners were kidnapped is involved. According to the spokesperson, Zu’ael is Ali Muhsin Al-Ahmar’s delegate in charge of jihad affairs.

Al-Ahmar is the military commander of North West Yemen, and is known for his extremist religious positions and relations with Al-Qaeda, he is allegedly in charge of training jihadis in Yemen before sending them to Afghanistan, Iraq among other conflict zones.

The thing I always found so irksome is sometimes the jihaddis are trained in Yemeni military camps before they go to Iraq to kill American troops. Its no secret that the training of jihaddis for export is largely supervised and facilitatied by military commanders. So maybe if we ask nicely or give Ali Mohsen more US military aid, we can get the kids back, alive.

So according to this paradigm, which is not confirmed, members of the state affiliated jihaddist militia captured the Germans, either on their own or on orders (with a motive to start the next war, recall how quickly the Yemeni government blamed the Houthi rebels.)

Now that’s the problem right there with state affiliated jihaddst militias, they have a tendency to engage in jihad.

Up to this point, Yemen’s deployment of Jihaddists against the rebels has been tolerated and apparently not seen as much of a threat. The practice is often sympathetically described as “co-option”. But the threat is there. Once fanatics get blood on their teeth, they often never lose the taste. Its very hard to back off an ideology that you have already killed for. Once the war is over, where will these trained and indoctrinated jihaddists deploy next?

On the other hand (or maybe the same hand), according to several announcements, the security forces are going to break the case and find the hostages today, within hours.

UPDATE: Yes, it is the same guy, a report by the Yemen Times in January 2008 noted:

Regarding behaviors believed to instigate a new war, tribal sources noted that an extremist Salafi cleric, named Askar Zuail, who works as Office Manger for Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, Commander of the Northwestern Military Flank, labeled Houthi followers as disbelievers while giving a sermon in one of the local mosques on Friday. The preacher said that Houthi loyalists are affiliated with the Shiite Ja’afari sect, adding that “the authorities will never negotiate with them.”

The same sources reported that Zuail is leading Salafi groups that support the army in its fight with Houthis, and during the past few months he began to instigate people against Houthis and their Shiite sect in his Friday sermons

A few days ago, the Saudi Interior Ministry denied being notified of the arrest of Alwan, the “major financier” recently captured, just like the Saudis never officially heard about the seven Saudis captured that Yemen announced in the spring. This guy I think may be on the Saudi issued list of 85, I recall there were a lot of al Harbis there. Earth Times

Sana’a, Yemen - An alleged Saudi member of al-Qaeda has surrendered to police in Yemen, the Defence Ministry reported on Thursday - one week after the arrest of a Saudi man described as the senior financier of the terrorist group in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The man, identified as Naif Duhais Yahya al-Harbi, has provided “important information that will lead to the arrest of a number of dangerous members of the organisation,” the ministry said in its online newspaper.

(Read on …)

ALGIERS, June 17 (Reuters) - Yemen is in danger of following Afghanistan down the path to becoming a safe haven for Islamist militants, the European Union’s anti-terrorism chief said in an interview on Wednesday.

Three foreign women were found dead in Yemen this week after they were kidnapped by an armed group, heightening long-standing fears the country could slip into chaos and provide a launchpad for militant attacks.

Gilles de Kerchove, the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, said he had recommended that Yemen be ranked alongside Pakistan and the northern Sahara as regions that harbour threats to European interests.

(Read on …)

Rather a large crowd, I don’t recall the rebel areas having a march before, rallies on al Ghadir day but never a march. This is in a Houthi area, Dhayan City, not Sa’ada city, which is controlled by the Yemeni military.

According to one of the signs, the kidnappings were the work of the pro-American intelligence services and elements connected to Israel and the US (??!!). I really don’t think the US arranged to murder the three nurses. The deafening US silence on the government violence toward civilians in Sa’ada since 2004 enhances the Houthis conceptualizaton that the US supports the Sa’ada War.

New Statement from Abdelmalik al Houthis pledging to cooperate in the investigation:

To the Director of the Republican members of the hospital Saada

الهيئة الطبية الأجنبية العاملة بصعدة Of the foreign medical Saada

بعـــــــد التحيــــــة Sir

نؤكد مواساتنا وتعازينا لكم ولأسر الضحايا واستنكارنا للجريمة Assure you of our sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and condemnation of the crime
التي ارتكبت بحق مجموعة منكم على أيدي بعض المجرمين الذين Committed against a group of you at the hands of some criminals who
تجردوا من كل القيم الإنسانية والدينية ونحمل مسؤولية Devoted themselves from all religious and human values, and we hold the responsibility

ما حدث أجهزة الأمن والقوات المسلحة ومن معهم من المشايخ كون الجريمة وقعت في What happened the security services and armed forces and their elders that the crime occurred in the
المنطقة الجغرافية التي يسيطرون عليها ، كما نؤكد لكم بأننا سنتعاون معكم في Geographical area under their control, and assure you that we will cooperate with you in
كشف بعض الخيوط التي من الممكن إن توصلكم إلى المجرمين ومن وراءهم إن طلبتم Revealed some leads that could be you from the criminals behind it is that you
منا ذلك وسنسعى لمنع ارتكاب مثل هذه الجرائم في المناطق التي تحت سيطرتنا ، Us and we will seek to prevent the commission of such crimes in areas under our control,
كما قد فعلنا ذلك في الماضي . And have done so in the past.

عبد الملك بدر الدين الحوثي Abdul-Malik al-Badr al-Din al-Houthi

SK: Undated picture released by the Immanuelgemeinde church parish and authorized by the families shows German nurses Rita Stumpp, left, and Anita Gruenwald, who were found murdered in Yemen.

News Yemen: The daily al-Shomoa newspaper on Tuesday quoted a source the Yemeni Intelligence Services as expecting to find the kidnappers and hostages within 24 hours.

The kidnapping and murders may be the work of the group of the foreign (Arab and non-Arab) al Qaeda that began arriving in Sa’ada in April, as we reported here at the time and I think its in one of the articles. It was a substantial number and independently reported by multiple outlets.

If so, it would account for the deviation from the pattern of terror attacks established previously by the indigenous al Qaeda group, which has been to murder foreign tourists by suicide bombing or in one case, by strafing them with gunfire. Kidnapping foreign female aid workers is a standard and current tactic of terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. The arrival and amassing of foreign terror operatives in Sa’ada was certainly not a haphazard occurrance, and this may be not either.

The drug dealers story also seem a reasonable explanation, and it has a lot of resonance on the ground, but it wouldn’t account for the torture and mutilation. The story is that a large shipment of drugs was confiscated by security, who refused to release the drugs back to the dealers after negotiations. The kidnapping was a method of leveraging the talks. The kidnapping of nine persons is certainly the work of a group with prepared logistics, not a temporarily insane person overcome with jihaddist fervor and armed with a jambia.

If the back story relates to negotiations over confiscated drugs, it would account for the Yemeni government’s early and conflicting announcements of the kidnappng itself and the rush to blame the Houthis. As we know, many drug smuggling rings have some association with and support of regime affiliated individuals. The concerns of the Yemeni mafia often run counter to standard governmental administration and violently conflict with other aspects of the regime (like the Coast Guard). There’s big money involved in drug smuggling in Yemen; one shipment of hashish confiscated after an external intel tip had a street value of USD 20 million.

Then of course, as with all terror attacks in Yemen, there is the false flag theory- where some element of the Yemeni security has involvement. This thinking shakes out into two forms- 1) subverted security directs and/or provides logistical assistance to al Qaeda and 2) deliberate acts by the Yemeni government under the guise of al Qaeda (or in this case the Houthi rebels) to manipulate Western sentiment and analysis. In the current scenario, the regime by blaming the rebels for the kidnapping ultimately legitimizes the resumption of the Sa’ada war and gains recognition of the rebels as “terrorists”, something the international community has not done. It also would serve, as it has, to take oxygen away from the growing southern protests and calls for dissolution of the unified Yemeni state. The “false flag” conceptualization as an overall theory of Yemeni government practice has been advanced in Yemen by persons ranging from al Qaeda operatives themselves to mainstream opposition leaders and the former president of South Yemen Ali Salem Beidh.

Independent: The bodies of three women hostages found in Yemen are believed to show signs of torture and extensive mutilation, it emerged yesterday as security officials investigated whether the reasons for the killings were religious rather than purely political.

Two of the murdered women belonged to a Bible school in Germany and had links with a Baptist charity operating in Yemen. The third victim was a Korean who worked for an aid organisation with religious affiliations.

Diplomatic sources said that the savage way the murders were committed did not conform to hostage-taking scenarios associated with a local Shia group, the Houthis, who the Yemeni authorities are blaming, or al-Qa’ida and their associates, who the Americans say have been infiltrating the country.

Well thats a dandy idea. They’ve been missing since Friday.

Sana’a, Yemen - Yemen’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday it has expanded the search for six Western hostages and their kidnappers to three provinces surrounding the volatile north-western province of Saada where they were abducted five days ago.

‘Security forces in the provinces of al-Jawf, Amran, and Hajjah are now partaking in the search,’ the ministry said in a statement.

(Read on …)

Oh my my, somebody has an overly idealistic vision of the fanatical bloody killers known as al Qaeda. A Yemeni analyst makes the case that al Qaeda couldn’t have kidnapped the women and children because al Qaeda doesn’t kidnap women ON PRINCIPLE. How out of touch is this guy?

Sorry, al Qaeda has been kidnapping women aid workers in Afghanistan for years. Does anyone remember poor Margaret Hassan or the other women kidnapped in Iraq? And shown on video- begging for their lives ? We cannot exclude al Qaeda by attributing some or any standards or ethics to the group- they murder people at random, normally Muslims, including women and children, cut off the heads of Buddhist school girls in Thailand and kidnap female aid workers all the time.

In Yemen, during the attack on the Belgian tourists (Jan 08), they stopped the car and opened fire, and then leaned in to make sure they got some good shots. And they did; they murdered two women. Was that a political statement about the stationing of western troops?

Ruled out a political analyst and expert on terrorism and Haidar Abdel-Elah Al-Qaida and parking behind the abduction and killing of foreign nationals in Saada.
وقال لـ( نيوزيمن) ” عملية خطف وقتل غربيين في محافظة صعدة لا تحمل بصمات القاعدة، لان القاعدة لها مطالب وشروط تتعلق بتمركز ا لقوات الغربية - خصوصا حلف الناتو- في البلدان الإسلامية؛ كأفغانستان والسواحل اليمنية”. The l (NewsYemen) “the process of kidnapping and killing of Westerners in the province of Saada, do not bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda, because al-Qaeda with the demands and conditions relating to the stationing of a Western forces - especially NATO - in the Islamic countries; the coast of Yemen and Afghanistan.”
وأضاف” القاعدة تستثمر عمليات الخطف التي تقوم بها للمطالبة بالانسحاب من أفغانستان او ا لإفراج عن أسرى أو حتى طلب فدية، كما أن مسار عمليات القاعدة في العالم من يوم ظهورها لم يسجل حالة اختطاف واحدة لنساء أو قتلهن أسيرات لان ذلك بحسب أدبيات وبيانات سابقة للقاعدة أن ذلك يتنافى مع دينها وفكرتها وأهدافها الإيديولوجية”. “Al Qaeda has invested kidnappings carried out by calling for withdrawal from Afghanistan or the release of prisoners, or even a ransom demand, and the path of Al-Qaeda operations in the world did not appear on record one case of abduction and murder of women or female, because according to the literature and data base that the pre - This is contrary to religion and ideology, and ideological objectives. ”
AlbaidaNews- NewsYemen _ special

Protests were held today in Sa’ada in the Houthi rebels’ stronghold of Dhayan (which the government carpet bombed during the last war). The protests were against the kidnapping of the German, British and South Korean aid workers and three small children. The bodies of three nurses have been found mutiliated. The where abouts of the remaining six are still unknown.

They are protesting the false accusations by the government that Houthi fighters kidnapped the nine, and consider the entire event an invitation for foreign interference in Sa’ada and Yemen as a whole:

The rebels have also said they consider the event a plot by the government to re-ignite the Sa’ada War into the sixth round of fighting.

And of course the obligatory “Death to America” and “Death to Jews”. Yahya al Houthi claims “The Death to America” is a foreign policy statement and has a nuanced meaning, and reaaaly they bear no malice against the American people, but do the 15 year old chanting recruits know that?

There’s no way rebel leader Abdelmalik al Houthi would order the kidnapping and murder of Germans in particular, when his brother Yahya al Houthi is in exile in Germany. That the Yemeni government spent three days strongly asserting that the Houthis kidnapped them, when lives are on the line, shows their utter disregard for human life. Its odd that the Yemeni regime, usually so eager to show itself as the victim of terrorism, hasn’t said a peep about the possibility of al Qaeda involvement so far- its been five days and its an al Qaeda type operation.

The German comment on the “brutality” of the deaths is distressing; one can only hope the three nurses were shot before they were stabbed and mutiliated. German intel expects they are likely all dead already.

If they are alive, the hostages may be in Saudi Arabia and/or show up in a vid. The terrorists would keep the mother alive to keep the kids calm. Its a bad situation when that’s one of the more positive alternatives. God help them.

SABA: Brutal killing of foreigners in Yemen bears al-Qaeda ‘Hallmarks’, Germany June 16 (Saba) – Germany believes al-Qaeda was behind the kidnapping of seven Germans on Friday and killing two female captives on Monday in Yemen. The German intelligence services expected all the hostages including seven Germans, a Briton and a South Korean, were killed in the hand of al-Qaeda militants in the Yemeni northern Saada region.

The German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Tuesday the German Intelligence Authorities based their conclusions on the brutality of the killing of three female foreigners whose bodies were found in Saada.

“The Germans are particularly in Al-Qaeda’s line of fire. Al-Qaeda is intensifying things. We should prepare ourselves for additional deaths,” an unnamed expert was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Regarding the nine hostages in Yemen, three nurses have been found dead. The missing are two men, three small children and their mother. The Yemenis are searching.

I have been concerned that al Qaeda had a new hostage taking method in the works since the Saudis found that cave on the Saudi/Yemeni border (somewhat near the kidnap site) that had rooms or holding cells in it, clearly designed to imprison captives. The cave overlooks AQAP deputy al Shihiri’s village.

In that kind of scenario, the kidnapped group needs to be smaller than nine for logistical considerations. The Saudis must be frantically checking their side of the border, yes? If we are assuming the remaining six are still alive, which we must, there is NO reason to assume they are still in Yemen. The merger of the Saudi branch of al Qaeda with the Yemeni branch means there is no border in these kind of operations, and the indigenous terror resources of both branches are available to the unified group (AQAP). The cave article from Alshaq Alawasat, dtd June 09:

According to one of the [governmental] escorts, the cave that the Al Qaeda cell used overlooks the village of Said Ali Al Shihri, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who recently appeared in a video attributed to the Al Qaeda in Yemen organization threatening to carry out attacks against Saudi Arabia. The Southern Cave is in close proximity to the border region between Saudi Arabia and Yemen…

The main cave was used by members of the cell for the storage of arms and foodstuffs, and occasionally as a temporary place of shelter also. The cave is located 155 km or two hours from the city of Abha, which is the capital of the Asir province. The cave is one of a series of small isolated caves in the Sarwat mountainside, which stretches from the Western region of Saudi Arabia to Yemen. This mountain range is 1000 meters above sea level at its lowest point and 2200 meters above sea level at its highest…

Amongst the items found in the cave were; military uniforms, boots, helmets, knives, various types of weaponry and other miscellaneous items. This gives a clear indication to the type of terrorist operation planned by the cell. It seems that the location of the Southern Cell’s cave was chosen in mind of the difficulty of it being discovered, and the ease with which members of the cell might flee in the event of this actually occurring.

The Al Qaeda cell did not even discount the possibility of escape from the security authorities by use of parachute (ed- hang gliders? ?) , and Asharq Al-Awsat has learnt that a number of the cell members were intending to use parachutes in order to jump from the high mountainside and land safely in an effort to escape the security authorities.

The location chosen for the cave indicates that it was to be used as a safe house for their operations, and may have been used to imprison hostages, and film them for propaganda purposes, as well as in order to shelter the cell members from the security forces.

Un Young Sun, South Korean nurse murdered in Yemen. You can really see her beautiful spirit through the photo.

Source: Yemen Post, I put an asterick next to the three poor souls whose bodies were found stabbed and shot.

The family:
Johannes H. (36)
Sabine H. (36)
their kids Lydia (4), Anna (3) and Simon (1)

The nurses:
Anita G. (24)*
Rita S. (26)*
Anthony S. (british)
Young-Sun Ium (korean)*

So what we have still out there is two men, three children and their mother. It says a lot.

DBA: Sana’a/Berlin - Security forces in Yemen continued their search Tuesday for six of nine kidnapped Westerners, a day after the mutilated bodies of three of the hostages were found…Yemeni officials said the bodies of the South Korean and two German nurses were found in a dry river valley in Wadi Nushur, 12 kilometres north-east of the city of Saada in the north-west of the country. They had been killed with pistols and daggers.

(Read on …)

Comment by Jane: All the foreigners murdered in previous incidents in Yemen were killed in terror attacks by al Qaeda. The Houthis have never kidnapped any civilians, Yemenis or foreigners, since the war began in 2004.

The multiple foreigner kidnappings by tribesmen occurred in other areas, and not by rebel fighters. The very odd thing is the Yemeni government’s rush to judgement. Caution and concern for the kidnap victims would dictate the state not immediately blame the rebels, which they did in the strongest terms, even though it was a propaganda coup for day. The fate of the children and the men is uncertain at this time, as well as who kidnapped them.

The other story circulating is that drug dealers kidnapped the nine after the security refused to return a shipment of confiscated drugs. (Mareb Press) To follow is the statement of Abdel Malik al Houthi:

*ندين ونستنكر بشدة ما تعرض له أطباء المستشفى الجمهوري من عمل إجرامي بشع**
**يتنافى مع القيم والمبادئ والأخلاق الإنسانية، ويكشف أن من وراء الحادثة** **قد
تجردوا عن الضمير وتحولوا إلى ذئاب بشرية اعمي بصائرهم حقدهم الأعمى**
**ومؤامراتهم
الخطيرة التي تستهدف البلد** **.*

(Read on …)

The status of the other six has been confirmed as “alive” by the state media but their where abouts are unclear.

Earth Times

Sana’a, Yemen - Yemeni kidnappers shot dead three foreign female aid workers on Monday, three days after nine foreigners, including seven Germans, were abducted in north-western Yemen, provincial officials said. They said two German girls out of the group were found alive after police found the bodies of two German nurses and a South Korean female teacher in the district of Akwan of the of Wadi Nushur area east of Saada.

(Read on …)

OK slightly more coherent:

There are conflicting reports coming out of Yemen on the status of nine foreign hostages kidnapped days earlier in Sa’ada, Yemen. One report says three hostages were killed, most say seven were murdered- shot, not beheaded, and two children were left alive. Another very new report from Yemen says six have been recovered alive.

Looking to the question of who murdered them, the least likely group is “tribesmen” who have kidnapped nearly 200 this decade. All those kidnappings were announced at once and all hostages were released unharmed after negotiations with the government. The next least likely is the Shiite rebel group, the Houthis. In four years of war, the rebels have mingled with civilians but never targeted them, and they never engaged in any kidnappings. A more possible culprit is the Yemeni Political Security Organization which has previously, it is said, created terror attacks against western tourists in order to gain counter terror funding for the regime. The most likely actor is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has claimed credit for all the prior lethal attacks on tourists. Although the Yemeni government has taken great pains to pin the kidnappings and now the murders on the Shiite rebels, it doesn’t jive with history. The victims were associated with a Baptist medical team and were found in an area where a Baptist doctor was killed by al Qaeda in 2002. They were taken from a zone well controlled by the Political Security that would inhibit access by the rebels, but allow it by terrorists. (The Yemeni government has engaged the services of al Qaeda linked terrorists as mercenaries against the Shiite rebels in the Sa’ada governorate.)

Whoever perpetrated this crime, its an incredible act of brutality, considering they chose to take and not leave the kids to start with, and the victims confirmed dead are the three women- two German nurses and a South Korean nanny. Where are the three kids?

Original post, links, updates, below the fold as well as Abdel Malik al Houthi’s statement yesterday denying the complicity of his fighters in the kidnapping and accusing the government of treachery. (Read on …)

DUBAI Reuters - Yemen has arrested a man described as al Qaeda’s top financer in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, a security source told Reuters on Sunday, and seven Germans, a Briton and a South Korean have been kidnapped in north Yemen.

Saudi national Hassan Hussein Alwan was seized two days ago in Marib province in eastern Yemen, the security source said.

The most he can get three years like al Ahdel:

The alleged top al-Qaeda financier in Yemen has been arrested, security officials say.

He has been named as Hassan Hussein Bin Alwan, a Saudi Arabian national. Reports say he was detained two days ago in Marib province, east of the capital, Sanaa, and is facing charges of forming an armed group.