Yemeni Report Explores Al-Qa'ida's 'New Strategy' in Southern Yemen

Al-Sa'ud work in accordance with a slogan: "Your might stems from the humiliation of Yemen, and your humiliation stems from the might of Yemen." This is why they support some parties against others and are interfering with their spies in order to ignite a war between the tribes and their sons in order to drag the country into a continuous war.

[Al-Jamal] Some media outlets carried reports about negotiations led by some tribal leaders with you in order to exit the governorate and expel the fighters who came from outside. To what degree is this true and what about the negotiations, if they are true?

[Al-Qasa] The mujahidin made a condition that the 25th Brigade leaves the area and this is a logical request because it is responsible for the destruction. However, the brigade is refusing to do so and to be exact, this is what happened.

The Mujahidin Youth Movement

[Al-Jamal] Some media outlets mentioned that fighters belonging to the Mujahidin Youth Movement have come to Yemen after the movement was defeated in Somalia, according to them. To what degree is this true?

[Al-Qasa] First of all, the Mujahidin Youth Movement in Somalia has not been defeated, but it tactically withdrew from Mogadishu, as I mentioned. They are governing most of Somalia. Second, we are one nation that supports one another. Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Believers are like one structure, they support one another." These revolutions have come to confirm this in terms of cohesion and compassion. We are one nation and there is no difference between a black man, and a white man, an Arab or a non Arab.

[Al-Jamal] However, is it feasible to receive or dispatch mujahidin to and from Somalia via the sea?

[Al-Qasa] The sea is big enough for the American and Crusader fleet therefore it will not be too small for the Muslims to move around everywhere, praise be to God.

[Al-Jamal] While the Mujahidin Youth Movement in Somalia is returning to its old strategy and is handing over areas that were previously under its control, you are taking control of areas in Yemen. What about the possibility of returning to the old strategy?

[Al-Qasa] The state is falling everywhere, it no longer has legitimacy. Our new and old strategies were to bring down this regime in order to liberate people from injustice and tyranny and to bring God's law to rule among people. If this is achieved then it is thanks to God. Our military policy is always flexible.

Relations with President Salih's Regime

[Al-Jamal] You are the product of the regime, according to the Yemeni opposition and those who are regarded as the elite?

[Al-Qasa] This is a false commodity promoted by the opposition leaders in order to distort the image of the mujahidin. Doesn't our tragedy and the tragedy of our people stem from the authority and the opposition leaders throughout these past decades? They are partners in governance in the democracy game that the Americans have brought. They are the tools of the Americans and they are two sides of the same coin. The American ambassador is the one ruling the country; the opposition and the authority are in a race to appease the Americans.

As for us, the East and the West, the far and the near, all know that we are fighting the regime and we regard the regime as illegal and outside Islam. Our discourse and the statements made by our leaders all are proof of that. As I said, we are fighting the regime that has killed and imprisoned many of us; the regime that destroyed our homes and attacked us. We have been in a constant war with this regime for over a decade. All that is said is distortion and deformation; however, people are too aware to believe such lies.

[Al-Jamal] They say that the regime is supporting the presence of the organization in Yemen in order to blackmail the West financially and to politically embezzle its opponents. Do you see the same thing?

[Al-Qasa] This is also one of the lies fabricated by opposition leaders who at the same time are appealing to the West and the Americans for help. They are presenting themselves as new agents for those Crusaders. As for the regime, then how can we be a tool in their hands while at the same time making their rule difficult? This is an unacceptable contradiction.

[Al-Jamal] However, the regime smuggled you out of the political security prison in 2006 and handed some governorates over to you in 2011. Through you the regime has killed officers and security personnel in the southern governorates over the past three years.

[Al-Qasa] All these are lies and allegations aimed at distortion. He who makes such claims must show proof. The truth that cannot be ignored is that we are fighting this regime with weapons, which is the highest form of jihad and portrays our acquittance of it. In our warfare we have used legitimate rules because this is a non-believer regime that is ruling us, and we cannot meet or hold dialogue with it. I add that all that has been mentioned are fabrications.

[Al-Jamal] During the Khaliji 20 [football] tournament the Al-Qa'ida operations stopped even though they were going crazy with their attacks in the months preceding the tournament. Does this not confirm the talk that you are linked to the government?

[Al-Qasa] Our faith forbids us from killing Muslims whether they are sportsmen or anything else. They are from the Muslim public and we are not allowed to kill them. What do those who spread these rumors want from us, do they want us to kill those people so we are not seen as part of the regime? This is not logical.

Position Vis-à-vis Popular Arab Revolutions

[Al-Jamal] You supported the popular Arab revolutions even though they condemn violence. They, according to many observers, have proved that your vision of change has failed?

[Al-Qasa] We support the move against any tyranny in any form. However, what the analysts say is not true. Our vision in the past was and continues to be what the people in the change squares are demanding and that is to bring down these regimes even through weapons as happened in Libya. As for us, we deal with matters in a rational manner and we say that he who points his weapons, bullets, and canons at you must be stopped and he can only be stopped using weapons. This is very logical and it is God's rule. "And if ye do catch them out, catch them out no worse than they catch you out" [Koranic verse: Al-Nahl 16; 126]. There is no difference between a peaceful revolution and he who defends it which is what is happening in Ta'z and other areas. We are defending the people of the revolution against the criminal regime that does not recognize peacefulness and only responds to the language of force.

[Al-Jamal] Are you not afraid of the reality that will follow the revolution in Yemen, especially since the opposition is promising America something better than what Salih's regime can offer in the war on terror aspect?

[Al-Qasa] We are closely watching the situation and hope that matters change for the better. As for some opposition leaders then these are their affairs and people must understand what these steps mean by such people. These are very dangerous steps and must be condemned. The revolutionary youths are condemning such statements and such programs that aim at putting Yemen in the position of an occupied country that belongs to the Americans.

[Al-Jamal] Where would the Arab youth revolutions and the actions of Al-Qa'ida meet and where would they separate?

[Al-Qasa] We agree with them on the general goal which is to liberate the country from foreign and internal aggression, the rule of Shari'ah, refusing to be followers, and we defend with what we have against these criminal, corrupt regimes. The revolution in Libya was peaceful so when the regime was oppressive in suppressing it, the revolution defended itself. The same goes for Syria, and this is where the situation is heading in Yemen. Arming the revolution against an armed regime is part of the revolution's culture, and is important for the revolution to succeed.

[Al-Jamal] In the third and fourth months of the Yemeni revolution, Al-Qa'ida started to become more active compared to what it was at the beginning of the revolution, does this not negatively affect the path of the revolution?

[Al-Qasa] At first we gave everyone the opportunity to give what they had but the period became too long and we saw that the regime was not allowing any room for anyone and started to use excessive force and therefore we moved in order to defend the Muslims. Everyone took up weapons in that period in Ta'z, Arhab, Nahm, Sanaa, and other places. So why does only our movement have an effect whereas the movement of others does not even though everyone took up weapons?

[Al-Jamal] You took up weapons and defended Muslims. Does this mean that you are participating in what is happening in Arhab, Ta'z, and other areas?

[Al-Qasa] Those are our brothers and we have to defend and support them. This is an Islamic principle that cannot be relinquished under any circumstances. On the ground, we try to participate with them with whatever we have available to fight in order to raise the words: There is no God but God and in order to defend our sanctities and our honor. This is what we are asking and what we want. Our participation in their defence is an obligation of our faith, honor, and manhood.

[Al-Jamal] In his latest message to the doctor [REFERENCE to Ayman al-Zawahiri], Amir Al-Wuhayshi said that Al-Qa'ida is present in the youth squares. Did he actually mean those exact words?

[Al-Qasa] Al-Qa'ida is not a ghost or a ghoul that hides in caves. The mujahidin are part of the fabric of society. They are a current and they are present everywhere. As for our armed presence in the squares then this is not the case, nor would we do such a thing.

[Al-Jamal] Why did you delay [pledging] your allegiance to Al-Zawahiri even though other branches of the organization did so weeks before you?

[Al-Qasa] The problem was because of our security circumstances, no more no less.

[Al-Jamal] How did you receive the news of the death of Shaykh Usama. Did this really affect the performance of the organization as [US General] Petraeus said?

[Al-Qasa] Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin is a hero mujahid and God willing he was killed a martyr. The loss of this hero is very saddening for every Muslim as everyone saw on the media after the shaykh was killed, may God rest his soul. We gain our strength from God and then from the steadfastness and sacrifices of our leaders. Jihad is not linked to people it is a project of a nation that wants to rise and end dependency. This is what the shaykh prayed for, repeated, and hoped for. The hopes of the shaykh were realized in terms of the nation rising. I confirm to you that the power of the mujahidin is increasing and now Petraeus is standing in a defeated position.

[Al-Jamal] Does Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaqi ideologically agree with Al-Qa'ida or does he agree in terms of animosity toward America?

[Al-Qasa] Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaqi, may God protect him, agrees with the mujahidin in their vision and their opinion. He also agrees with the mujahidin in terms of fighting America and defending the Muslims against it.

[Al-Jamal] In the past you said your battle is not with soldiers, but now you are killing them. What changed?

[Al-Qasa] What changed is that the soldiers and the military institution did not accept to be neutral and they stood in our way and fought us. They sent campaign after campaign.

[Al-Jamal] As for killing innocent people, how do you deal with the rule that says: "what is not permissible in the first place becomes permissible if it is the result of doing the permissible."

[Al-Qasa] We do not kill innocent people as some media try to portray. On the contrary we investigate and are careful. There have been many operations that have been cancelled because they could affect the Muslim public which is not guilty of anything. We do not apply that rule that you mentioned. We do not follow it in such a way; it has regulations and a specialized legal and military council. The rule is not to be applied except in a very limited manner.

[Al-Jamal] The two operations: "Oh People of the Sunnah, You Have Achieved Victory" against the Huthists, did they serve their purpose in terms of stopping the Huthists. Why did you stop at these two operations?

[Al-Qasa] We have not stopped at these two operations. There have been other operations, the latest was against the Huthist gathering in Al-Matammah area where many members of the death squad were killed and which was brought in from Sa'dah to Al-Jawf in order to fight the Sunnis there. The reverberations of these operations there were good, praise be to God. These operations and other similar ones are what stopped the Huthists and those rejectionists [in reference to the Shia].

[Al-Jamal] Some local and foreign media outlets carried some reports about the killing of Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of the Qa'idat al-Jihad Organization in the Arabian Peninsula. To what degree is this true?

[Al-Qasa] We have become accustomed to such false reports by many media outlets. I myself have been killed a number of times and then God brought me back (speaking ironically). Amir Nasir al-Wuhayshi is well and such news is not true.

[Al-Jamal] Finally, I would like to thank you Shaykh Fahd for giving us the opportunity to hold this interview with you.

[Al-Qasa] And I would like to thank you for coming to us and taking all the trouble. I hope that the interview is published accurately.

[Description of Source: London Al-Quds al-Arabi Online in Arabic -- Website of London-based independent Arab nationalist daily with strong anti-US bias. URL: http://www.alquds.co.uk/]

Madad Video Documents Ansar al-Shari'ah 'Aid' Activities in Ja'ar, Zinjibar

GMP20111102405002 Ana al-Muslim Network in Arabic 02 Nov 11

[For a copy of the video, contact GSG_GVP_VideoOps@rccb.osis.gov or the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615. Selected video also available at OpenSource.gov.]

On 2 November, forum participant "Tariq al-Nasr," user number 112030, posted to the Ana al-Muslim Network a message with links to download a video production titled "Eye on Events 1," produced and disseminated by the Madad News Agency. The 11-minute 3-second production, dated September, documents the Ansar al-Shari'ah group in Yemen "disseminating aid" and returning "a stolen bus" to its owner. A summary of the video follows. The figures indicate video running time.

0000 Opening title screen presents on-screen text reading: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate: 'An Eye on Events, Part 1. The Madad News Agency, Shawwal 1432, [corresponding to September 2011]."

The video opens with the following on-screen text: "Ansar al-Shari'ah disseminating aid to the needy in Zinjibar." A bearded man is shown standing by the side of the road next to a truck. The man opens his speech by reciting a Hadith and the following Koranic verse: "The believers are but a single brotherhood," [partial Koranic verse, Al-Hujurat, 49:10]. The man then states: "Your brothers of Ansar al-Shari'ah present what aid they are able [to provide] to their poor and unfortunate brothers, and to the some 200 poor families in the state of Zinjibar. God willing, this aid will be distributed. The aid is divided into allotments for each family, consisting of a certain amount of rice, sugar, and oil...The things they need. God willing, and by with the permission of the Almighty, this aid will be distributed in the same way in the other regions across the state."

0110 Footage is shown of the aid being distributed from trucks and smaller vehicles. Voices can be heard explaining who is presenting the aid, and those receiving the aid can be heard thanking those distributing it.

0205 In the next scene, on-screen text reads: "Ansar al-Shari'ah provides and installs electric transformers." Footage shows several men working at a small power substation, while others look on.

0240 Next, on-screen text is displayed reading: "Ansar al-Shari'ah takes control of a stolen truck and returns it to its rightful owner." Footage shows men driving along a road and stopping near a parked truck. The cameraman can be heard saying: "A stolen vehicle, which we will return." A vehicle mounted with a machine gun belonging to those filming the incident is also seen as the camera pans to one side. The men return to their vehicles and depart together, one driving the truck which was allegedly stolen. Men can be heard speaking in the vehicle in which the cameraman is riding, but the sound of the engine makes their voices inaudible.

0523 In the next scene, a man fills a minibus with gasoline and on-screen text reads: "A stolen bus is returned to its owner after being recovered by Ansar al-Shari'ah." An off-camera voice says to the man: "This is about the brothers, the accomplishments of Ansar al-Shari'ah." The man then recounts how he was stopped on the road by five men who then stole his minibus.

0939 On-screen text reads: "Ansar al-Shari'ah repairs roads that were destroyed in the floods." A man operates a front-end loader next to a truck sunken into a roadway. An off-camera man says: "[Audio indistinct] from the Yemeni Army in one of the campaigns launched against the city of Ja'ar, or the state of Ja'ar. The guys captured it, may God [audio indistinct]. And now they are performing an immense and great deed: clearing the road of the vehicles that blocked the road after the siege on the state of Ja'ar and Zinjibar. And now our brother Abu-Tahir is working to dislodge this truck, which has been stuck for about two days now. God is the one who can help. Our brothers in Ansar al-Shari'ah [audio indistinct] the Muslim brothers, and they have come forth only to serve this religion and assist the Muslims. We ask God to aid them and guide them in this great deed.

1057 The video ends with a closing screen that reads "Eye on Events 1" and the Madad News Agency logo in the bottom right.

[Description of Source: Ana al-Muslim Network in Arabic The largest, most doctrinally diverse jihadist website in the online jihadist environment; while generally supportive of Al-Qa'ida's worldview, discussions in the site's forums feature a vocal minority of participants who occasionally argue against Al-Qa'ida and terrorism in general; the site has been online in its current format since at least 1996 and possesses a more moderate tone than other jihadist websites; URL: www.muslm.net/vb]

Yemen: Al-Qa'ida Militants in Abyan Reportedly Planning To Relocate to Shabwah

GMP20111101133003 Sanaa Akhbar al-Yawm Online in Arabic 01 Nov 11

[Unattributed report: "Clashes in Zinjibar, Abyan Leave 1 Solider, 2 Al-Qa'ida Elements Dead, 3 Soldiers Wounded; Shaykh [Muhammad Husayn] Al-Marmi Asserts That [Yemeni] Army is Being Targeted by Airstrikes Every Time it Makes Progress Against Militants"]

Shaykh Muhammad Husayn al-Marmi, one of the shaykhs and social figures in Abyan Governorate, has asserted that he does not expect that the confrontations and clashes between the [Yemeni] army and militants from Al-Qa'ida to be decisively resolved in the near future.

In a statement to Akhbar al-Yawm, Al-Marmi said that the army, which is confronting militants in Abyan, is being targeted by airstrikes by the regime every time the army makes progress in ending the battle with the militants.

Local sources have confirmed that one soldier and two Al-Qa'ida elements were killed while three soldiers were wounded in clashes between Al-Qa'ida and the army in Zinjibar, capital of Abyan on Monday.

Al-Marmi added that the national army which is fighting for liberating Abyan from armed elements is being targeted by airstrikes. He noted that the problem of Abyan can be resolved only if the problem of Sanaa is resolved and that what is happening in Abyan is directly connected to what is happening in Sanaa. He said: Although Abyan is the hometown of the vice president, the minister of defense, the deputy chief of political security, and many officials, there has been no change on the ground. Meanwhile, he explained that what is happening in Abyan is imposed on those figures, and therefore it was easy to impose such a situation on normal citizens.

Addressing regime officials whose hometown is Abyan, he said that what is happening in the governorate is shameful. Al-Marmi added that the armed groups in the governorate are affiliated to parties in power. In addition, informed sources told Akhbar al-Yawm that disagreements on an amount of 50 million rials have caused the failure of the mediation of the minister of defense concerning the removal of militants from Zinjibar, Abyan Governorate. The sources also asserted that the minister of defense authorized some tribal figures in Abyan Governorate to conduct a dialogue with the militants to convince them to leave Zinjibar in return for financial compensation to be given by the regime. The sources also noted that the minister of defense has given 50 million rials to the brokers; however, they disagreed among themselves on the distribution of the money, causing the mediation to fail similar to other mediation efforts by the minister of defense.

[Description of Source: Sanaa Akhbar al-Yawm Online in Arabic -- Website of independent daily newspaper featuring frequent reporting on Yemeni tribal affairs; URL: www.akhbaralyom.net/]

Yemen: Al-Qa'ida Elements Enter Hadramawt Cities To Shift Battles to Governorate

GMP20111031099001 Aden News Agency in Arabic 30 Oct 11

[Unattributed report: "Groups of Al-Qa'ida Enter Hadramawt in Anticipation of Upcoming Battles"]

According to well-informed sources and eyewitness account to Aden News Agency (ANA), groups of the so-called Ansar al-Shari'ah have entered the cities of Al-Mukalla, Al-Shihr, and Say'un, and some of the groups' members have been spotted in public places.

The sources said that the cities of Hadramawt, specially Al-Mukalla, Al-Shihr, and Say'un are witnessing dubious and suspicious movements and presence of religious groups that seem to be planning to shift their upcoming battles to Hadramawt.

A number of political security officers were assassinated in public places by unknown individuals. It is suspected that religious groups were behind these assassinations which security forces did not reveal their executors' identity until this moment.

These groups impose their security and administrative grip on the city of Azzan in Shabwah Governorate, west of Al-Mukalla City, in addition to other southern cities and villages.