US drone attacks in Yemen ignore Al Qaeda for local militants
The National (UAE) ^ | Jun 21, 2011 | Hakim Almasmari
Government raids and US drone attacks in Yemen are focusing on Islamic militant targets in Abyan province, ignoring the more dangerous Al Qaeda stronghold of Shabwa province, a senior defence ministry official said yesterday.
Among the targets has been the Jaar farm of Khaled Abdul Nabi, considered one of the most powerful Islamic militants in Yemen since the early 1990s, according to the interior ministry.
...Last week, the interior ministry said it arrested 10 militants in Aden believed to be fighters with links to Mr Nabi.
Qasem Bin Hadi, head of security in Zinjibar, Abyan, said that the majority of the militants killed were terrorists.
...Abyan has turned into a ghost town and that clashes between government forces and militants are non-stop.
Critics feel this is a dangerous escalation in Yemen's fight against terror.
Ali Abdul Jabbar, director of Dar Ashraf Research Centre in Sana'a, said: "There are thousands of Islamic militants in the south, but only 200-300 Al Qaeda members. The militants are more moderate than Al Qaeda but the government considers them a risk."
Mr Abdul Jabbar said Islamic militants in Abyan have never harmed US interests in the region but this could change after the continuous US drone attacks...
Militants have taken over the majority of Lahj province over the last week and entered Yemen's business capital, Aden.
Nabil Bukairi, director of the Abaad Research Centre in Sana'a, said: "You cannot fight an entire country. The ideology of jihad is wide spread in the south, and to uproot it, you would have to kill millions of people.
"This is the beginning of a long war that will kill thousands and solve nothing."
(Excerpt) Read more at thenational.ae ...
