Yemen’s three terror fronts

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took credit in an internet statement Friday for a pair of suicide attacks that targeted South Koreans in Yemen.

A teen-aged suicide bomber killed four South Korean tourists in Shibam, Hadramout on March 15. A second terror attack three days later in Sana’a targeted a convoy of family members and South Korean investigators. The motorcade had left a military camp and was traveling along a highway when a suicide bomber detonated his device between two of the cars. There were no injuries to the passengers.

Filed under: Analysis, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Korea, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, South Korea, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

Fresh attack on Koreans in Yemen

A suicide bomber has attacked a South Korean delegation visiting Yemen after a deadly attack on tourists on Sunday.

Officials said no one apart from the bomber was harmed in this attack.

Reports say he walked between two cars in the Korean convoy as it was driving back to the airport in Sanaa and detonated an explosives belt.

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Korea, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, South Korea, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

Al Qaeda bomber behind Yemen suicide attack

A suicide bomber behind a deadly attack that killed four South Korean tourists in Yemen was trained in lawless Somalia, just across the busy Gulf of Aden shipping route, a Yemeni security official said on Tuesday.

The bombing, which is likely to further damage the impoverished country’s nascent tourism sector, came after repeated calls by al Qaeda leaders for attacks on non-Muslim foreigners in the Arabian Peninsula.

Violence in Yemen has affected foreign firms developing its oil and gas sector, while attacks on foreigners — including kidnappings by tribesmen — have hit tourism, diplomats say.

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Korea, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, South Korea, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

Tourists killed in Yemen explosion

Four South Korean tourists visiting Yemen have been killed by an explosion while posing for photographs near the historic fortified city of Shibam.

Two Yemenis accompanying the party to a hill overlooking the UN World Heritage site were also killed. At least three other people were injured.

The cause of the blast is unclear although Yemen has been seen as a haven for Islamist militants.

Militants are known to have a presence in the surrounding province, Hadramaut.

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Korea, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, South Korea, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

Yemen releases 170 Al-Qaeda suspects

Yemen released 170 men once suspected of being members of al-Qaeda just two weeks after the terror group announced that Yemen had become the base of its activities for the whole Arabian peninsula, security officials said. The announcement also came as government forces announced they were poised to sweep through the northern city of Marib to combat an entrenched al-Qaeda presence that includes both Yemenis and Saudis, said a security official earlier. All officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the press.

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

The U.S. soldiers who can no longer fight

Hundreds of US armed forces personnel have applied for conscientious objector status since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 – and military rights’ campaigners say the number is growing.

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that 425 servicemen and women made applications for CO (conscientious objector) status between 2002 and 2006.

Filed under: Voice, Afghanistan, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Iraq, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, United States, World

NATO may ask China to help with Afghanistan war

China may be called on to help with the Afghanistan war effort by possibly opening a new supply route for alliance forces, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The remark was made ahead of a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers — including Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — that started Monday in Brussels.

Filed under: Asia, Afghanistan, Aid, China, Civil war, E.U, European Union, Foreign affairs, Foreign policy, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, NATO, Sharia, Taleban, Taliban, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, UK, United Nations, War, World, Yemen

Yemen: Base for New terror camps

In January, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh asked his network of loyalist jihadists to prepare for offensive operations against domestic “enemies of the state.” In return, Saleh has ceded authority to fundamentalist fanatics who seek to impose a neo-Salafi theocracy in the religiously pluralistic country. It is unclear if this is the full extent of the quid pro quo.

For nearly a decade, Yemen’s counter terror strategy has hinged on deal-making with Yemen’s jihadists. Counter terror operations are sporadic and often driven by US or Saudi intelligence.

Filed under: Analysis, Aid, Civil war, Foreign affairs, International, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, Sharia, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.N, U.S.A, United Nations, World, Yemen

Missiles kill seven in Pakistan

Missiles said to have been fired by US unmanned aircraft have killed seven people close to Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, Pakistani sources say.

Two missiles reportedly struck a house in Sararogha, in South Waziristan, and the dead are believed to include suspected militants.

Filed under: Asia, Afghanistan, International, ISI, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, Pakistan, Sharia, Taleban, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.S.A, War

Waziristan Taliban declares support for Osama bin Laden

The three senior-most Taliban leaders in North and South Waziristan have joined forces to wage jihad against Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the US at the behest of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar. The new Taliban alliance said it openly supports Omar and bin Laden in its war against the US, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Filed under: Asia, Afghanistan, International, ISI, Islam, Islamic law, Jihad, Militants, Muslim, Pakistan, Sharia, Taleban, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, U.S.A, War, Waziristan