Al-Qaeda’s leader admits receiving support by coalition in Yemen

SHABWA, May 04 (YPA) – A leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Khaled Batarfi, announced on Wednesday the continuation of the war in Yemen, “without the support of the Saudi-led coalition.

The came in an explicit admission that the terrorist organization had received support from the countries of the war coalition on Yemen.

Batarfi vowed, in a new video broadcast by Al-Qaeda-affiliated “Malahim” website, to continue fighting Sanaa forces on the fronts of Marib, Shabwa and Taiz, even if the coalition forces abandoned them.

“We, in Al-Qaeda Organization of Arabian Peninsula, are ready to ally again with our Muslim brothers from among the Sunnis to fight what he described as” rejecting Houthis in eastern and western Yemen,” he added.

Batarfi praised the positions made by Islah Party against the UAE and its attacks in Abyan, Hadramout and Shabwa, threatening the UAE and its armed militias with retaliatory attacks in response to “Arrows of the East Operation “, which targeted terrorist elements in Abyan and Shabwa.

He slammed what he called the UAE’s withdrawal from the fighting in Yemen and Saudi Arabia’s agreement with the Sanaa government.

Batarfi had admitted that al-Qaeda fighting alongside the coalition on 11 fronts inside Yemen.

The international Pandora Documents report revealed in January 2022 that Saudi Arabia had provided al-Qaeda in Yemen with heavy weapons, including artillery and modern military equipment. While Western news reports had revealed close relations and huge funding provided by the coalition countries to terrorist groups during the years of war in Yemen.

AA