SANAA - AL-QAEDA militants made a rare public appearance in restive south Yemen on Monday, telling an anti-government rally that the group's war was with the United States and not the Yemeni army, residents said.
The West and Saudi Arabia fear al-Qaeda will take advantage of the Yemeni government's focus on a Shi'ite rebellion in the north and rising secessionist sentiment in the south to spread its operations to the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter.
'Soldiers, you should know that there is no problem between us and you. The problem is between us and America and its lackeys,' residents quoted one militant as telling hundreds of people gathered to protest against the killing of dozens of civilians in government raids aimed at al-Qaeda last week.
Al Jazeera television showed footage of the militant addressing the crowd while an armed comrade stood by as a bodyguard. Both were unmasked.
2. here's the video -- another texas longhorn fan, at 20 seconds
3. 73 Saudis killed so far in fighting with Yemen
Seventy-three Saudis have been killed and 26 have gone missing since fighting broke out on November 3 between Saudi forces and Yemeni rebels, a Saudi minister told reporters Tuesday.
source: naharnet
4. key charges dropped in US base plot trial
KUWAIT: Kuwait's public prosecutor is set to withdraw a key conspiracy charge against six nationals on trial for plotting attacks against a US military base in the state, a defence lawyer said yesterday. Prosecutors took the decision a month ago and also ordered an inquiry into allegations by the accused that they had been tortured in custody, Jamal Al-Kandari said, although Judge Hisham Abdullah retained the charge on the charge sheet read out in court at yesterday's opening hearing.
All six of the eight accused in custody pleaded not guilty to all of the charges levelled against them, which also include planning to manufacture explosives, illegally possessing weapons and hiding longtime Al-Qaeda suspect Mohsen Al-Fadhli, who has been on the run since Jan 2005 and was one of two defendants being tried in absentia. The men told the judge that their initial confessions were extracted under torture by the state's secret service.
The suspects were arrested in August and the interior ministry then said they were suspected of being members of an Al-Qaeda cell that was preparing to attack Camp Arifjan and other key installations. They have been in custody since their arrest in the first week of August. The judge set Jan 18 for the next hearing when a state security officer will be cross-examined. The judge also called chemicals and forensic experts to testify in the case. He rejected a defence application for bail.
One of the suspects, Mohammed Assad, a surgeon at a public hospital, appeared in court with his arm in a sling, an injury he said he had sustained during questioning. Following the arrest of the six, a US defence department spokesman said that US forces in Kuwait had been targeted for attack but added that it was unclear if the suspects were linked to Al-Qaeda or planned to strike Camp Arifjan. About 15,000 US soldiers are stationed in Kuwait, which is also used as a transit point for thousands of US soldiers going to and from neighbouring Iraq. - AFP
source: kuwait times
5. DynCorp ditches Agility
KUWAIT: Logistics firm Agility said yesterday that US defence contractor DynCorp International had dropped its US unit as a subcontractor in a US Army deal, breaching contractual terms. The Kuwaiti firm said it was looking at legal options over DynCorp International's decision to drop Agility Defense and Government Services Inc as a subcontractor as of Dec 17. In November, a US grand jury indicted Agility under its previous name, Public Warehousing Co, on charges of fraud and conspiracy alleging that it overcharged the US Army on $8.5 billion worth of contracts to provide food to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. In July, Agility DGS secured a role the US Army deal with a group led by DynCorp International worth up to $5.874 billion for logistical support in Afghanistan.
source: kuwait times
No comments:
Post a Comment