Al Qaeda In The Arab Peninsula, Yemen Offshoot, Vows Al-Zawahri Loyalty

SANAA, Yemen — The leader of al-Qaida's Yemeni offshoot on Tuesday pledged his group's allegiance to Osama bin Laden's successor, and vowed to continue the fight against corrupt Western-backed leaders.

In a 10-minute audio message posted on extremist websites, Nasser al-Wahishi said his group – al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula – recognizes Egyptian-born doctor Ayman al-Zawahri as the new chief of al-Qaida. Al-Zawahri took over command of al-Qaida following the death of bin Laden in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May.

Al-Qaida-linked militants have taken advantage of the political turmoil engulfing Yemen to seize control of at least two towns and surrounding territory in the country's south, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee the area as government forces carry out airstrikes and a ground offensive to regain control.

"My soldiers and those soldiers with me in the Arab gulf... will not give up nor give in until Islam is ruling by God's will and strength," al-Wahishi said.

With an estimated 300 members, the United States says it is al-Qaida's most active branch. The group was linked to several attempted attacks on U.S. targets, including a plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009 and parcel bombs placed on cargo flights last year.

The U.S. fears al-Qaida-linked militants will take advantage of the unrest in Yemen to expand its haven in the country and plot attacks against the West. Washington has stepped up efforts to combat AQAP, using drones to target militants in Yemen's rugged provinces.

Al-Wahishi condemned US drone attacks on Yemen, which have killed civilians, and the "silence" of Yemen's leaders to these attacks.

"Our war against the Zionist Crusaders remains, for they have chosen this war," he said.

He said he supports the roughly six months of protests in Yemen seeking to oust embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh after 33 years in power.

Speaking more broadly of the uprisings sweeping across the Arab world, he said they have "toppled regimes and blown America's dreams to the winds."

"It has given Muslims a natural chance to rid themselves of the West's cross – its plots and its plans_ to chisel its own course for a return to the glory days," he added.

The al-Qaida leader also criticized the rulers of neighboring Saudi Arabia.

He said they turned the country – home to Islam's holiest site in Mecca – into a safe haven for tyrants, referring to the former Tunisian president who took refuge there after being ousted during a popular uprising in January, as well as the Yemeni president who is recuperating there after an attack on his presidential compound in June.

The audio was released a day after a top al-Qaida commander, Ali Said Jameel, was killed along with 17 other militants by government forces in southern Yemen, according to Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Sawmali.

Tribal leaders close to Jameel's family confirmed his death.

Jameel was on a list of wanted al-Qaida leaders.

___

Associated Press reporters Maamoun Youssef and Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Comments

[dayzee10]

09:28 AM on 07/27/2011

Overheard at a recent Al-Qaeda convention........"Show of hands please.....Who wants to be leader of our organization? Anybody? Come on now....it pays well, good benefits......Anybody?"

[CarlIII]

11:27 PM on 07/26/2011

Magnetic signature technology and the new ultra laser resolution will make no place on Earth safe for these people. His days are numbered. A drone with a hellfire missile is in his future. The satellites are up now. The tracking computers are on line. We can see through the roof now.

[desertsapien]

05:28 PM on 07/26/2011

After OBLs assassination, I stated that #2 , #3, #4, should immediately be taken out.
It would not be the end of the story but certainly create mass confusion for their rank and file.
It would also stop the flow of weapons for some time, since Gun dealers like to get paid in advance- you know, just incase.
Who's signing the terrorists paychecks now? Perhaps it's that 6 billion that went missing in Afghanistan.

[fisher2737]

03:39 PM on 07/26/2011

The bottom line: "They are expendable". In the military there is Chain of Command, whether on or off the battlefield. If someone gets killed or captured, the next in line normally takes over. Same with this. Bin Laden is dead, there are people that can and will take his place. Did someone think that once he was dead, the fighting would stop? That's silly. No way.

[jobscabin]

03:34 PM on 07/26/2011

Al-Queda of the Arabian Peninsula has given their allegiance to Zawahiri. In the southern United States that headline would read: Dirtballs Swear Oath to Coward.

[1776 or 1984]

03:24 PM on 07/26/2011

al-Zawahiri was touring the United States during the 1990's escorted by a man who served with the Special Forces at Fort Bragg, a CIA asset, an FBI informant, and worked security at a major defense contractor after being cleared by the Defense Intelligence Agency.

His escort also trained the 1993 World Trade Center cell, Somalia AQ cells prior to the blackhawk down incident, was Osama Bin Laden's security chief when Osama moved from Sudan to Stan in the 90s, and trained the African Embassies cells.

Source: "Triple Cross" by Peter Lance (he blogs on HuffPo)

[2083]

02:44 PM on 07/26/2011

That's cute.
Hopefully Seal Team 6 will stop by and make Zawahri's martyrdom dreams a reality.
It's really surprising how many people there are who's greatest aspiration in life is getting filled with lead by American servicemen.

[arcoregar]

02:00 PM on 07/26/2011

Be sure to keep one eye open when sleeping and listen for those helicopters...