Al-Qaeda frees Saudi officer in exchange for large ransom in Marib

MARIB, Jan. 06 (YPA) – A tribal mediation has succeeded in releasing a Saudi officer, who was kidnapped Monday by Al-Qaeda operatives in the areas under the control of Saudi-led coalition in Marib province, southeast Yemen.

A tribal source told Yemeni Press Agency that Saudi Arabia paid 500,000 Saudi riyals in exchange for the liberation of the officer.

The source indicated that the mediation led by Sheikh Alian Hussein bin Gharib succeeded in releasing the Saudi officer and handing over the money to the kidnappers.

Al-Qaeda militants, in coordination with officers in the coalition operations room, succeeded in luring the Saudi officer into ‘Al Jalal forts’ area, with the aim of agreeing to carry out joint operations against the Sanaa forces when they approached the vicinity of the city of Marib.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni Press Agency obtained exclusive information stated that the reason behind the Saudi officer’s abduction is to find out the sources that provided coordinates for targeting leaders of the Al-Qaeda organization by a drone strike, which killed two of them on December 15 while they were riding a motorbike in ‘Al-Bathaa area, east of Marib.

YPA