5. Yemen: the main origin of Al-Qaida
1. Yemeni Al-Qaida ; the most dangerous branch of terrorist group across the
world
Next to Saudi Arabia as the original diving board of Al-Qaida, Yemen is
the second main arena for activities of Al-Qaida. The roots of such a great
presence of Al-Qaida in Yemen date back to the time when the former Soviet
Union was present in Afghanistan. At that time, Ali Abdullah Saleh with the
assistance of the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Pakistan dispatched some Yemeni
youth to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet forces there. Following Russians exit
from Afghanistan, Al-Qaida elements remained there and formed a group
known as Arab-Afghans and Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan and to
some extent in Pakistan.
After the September 11 attacks and the U.S. invasion to Afghanistan,
Takfiri groups such as Al-Qaida and Taliban were seeking a new safe haven and
base for themselves. Extreme poverty and tribal system existing in Yemen as
well as weakness of Yemeni central government in managing the issues,
proximity of Yemen to Saudi Arabia and the belief of Yemenis in Jihad against
pagans resulted in Takfiris’ decision to choose Yemen as the best place for their
new base. As a result, since mid-1980s, plethora of prominent figures of Al-
Qaida regarded Yemen as the main base for their activities. It resulted in the
formation of a new branch of Al-Qaida known as the Yemeni Al-Qaida. The
terrorist Yemeni Al-Qaida formed through blending Al-Qaida in Yemen and
Saudi Arabia in January 2009 is regarded as the most dangerous branch of
Terrorist networks across the world.
Over his 31 years of tenure, Ali Abdullah Saleh legitimized the presence of
Takfiris in Yemen and Wahhabi figures such as Sheikh Al-Ahmar and
Abdelmajid Zendani possessed high positions over these years. In addition,
some of the military officials of Yemen including Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar were
6. financially supporting Al-Qaeda and were providing them with ammunitions.
The security organizations of Yemen and the U.S. took advantages of the
presence of this group as well, that is, activities of this group was monitored and
its members were arrested at the discretion of such organizations or members of
this group were guided towards actions resulting in insecurity.
2. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): number one winner of Yemeni
war
The Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the biggest winner of
the Yemeni war. Since its formation in the eastern Yemen in 2009, the AQAP is
experiencing the least amount of pressure and the most growth under current
circumstances. On April 2, 2015 the AQAP attacked a prison in Al Mukalla, a
main sea port and the capital city of the Hadhramaut coastal region in Yemen
and released some 300 inmates. Lots of freed prisoners had the experience of
being present in Al-Qaeda operations. Additionally, this attack resulted in
destruction of state buildings and decline of security status in Hadhramaut.
Hadhramaut is the home of Osama bin Laden’s ancestors. Most of the
residents of eastern part of Yemen are Sunnis and this area has been a great
place for activities of Al-Qaeda. This area has never been under the control of
Yemeni central government and has always been in a bad security condition.
During the current chaotic period in Yemen, the AQAP is recruiting and
training its forces freely. Executing one of its plans dubbed the “Exuberant
Parisian Combat” which refers to shooting at the office of the French magazine
Charlie Hebdo in 2015, the AQAP intends to strengthen its presence.