Yemen

Obama Order Looks To Deter Disruptions In Yemen

Eric Lach | May 16, 2012, 3:56PM

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour

An executive order issued by President Obama today authorizes sanctions against people and entities who "obstruct" Yemen's political transition, the latest sign of the administration's increased focus on the country.

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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Fallout From The Yemen Plot: Much Ado About Leaks

Eric Lach | May 15, 2012, 4:36AM

The operation that foiled Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's latest underwear bomb plot was a success, and everyone says so. But that consensus breaks down when the topic turns to how information about the plot became public. Last week, even while lauding the work that went in to breaking up the plan, government officials, lawmakers, and intelligence community observers were decrying the leaks related to the case.

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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

New Details Reported About Saudi Role In Foiled Bomb Plot

Eric Lach | May 9, 2012, 5:00PM

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism chief. (Reuters)

CNN is reporting new details about the alleged double-agent credited with foiling Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula's latest underwear bomb plot. Some of the details square with what has previously been reported, while others complicate the picture.

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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

The Foiled Underwear Airline Bomb Plot: What Do We Know?

Eric Lach and Ryan J. Reilly | May 9, 2012, 6:44AM

It's the latest underwear bomb plot that wasn't.

An Al Qaeda plan to blow up a passenger jetliner running right into the hands of U.S. and U.S.-friendly officials, giving the U.S. intelligence community another victory just days after the one-year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Reports on Tuesday made clear this was not a plot disrupted, as had initially been suggested, but a remarkable infiltration of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula by a double agent thought to be working for Saudi Arabia.

Until Tuesday night, U.S. officials had only offered up very basic details. One official speaking on the condition of anonymity called the recovery of the device "a team sport" and "another example of outstanding international counterterrorism cooperation." They said the plot was disrupted before it was even a threat to the U.S. and placed the blame on al-Qaeda.

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Anwar al-Awlaki

What Impact Will Anwar Al-Awlaki's Death Have In The West?

Jillian Rayfield | September 30, 2011, 12:30PM

The death of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric linked to al Qaeda's operations in Yemen, is likely to impact American Arabs and Muslims in positive fashion, according to Dr. Hussein Ibish, former communications director for the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Commitee.

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Mohammed al-Awfi

Ex-Gitmo Detainee Who Joined Al Qaeda Accuses U.S. Of Torture At Bagram

Justin Elliott | January 14, 2010, 10:16AM

Mohammed al-Awfi

In a new interview with the BBC, a former Gitmo detainee and former member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula accused the United States of torturing him while at Bagram prison in Afghanistan.

The BBC interviewed Mohammed al-Awfi in the well-appointed apartment where he is being held by Saudi authorities. A Saudi national, al-Awfi's journey took him from Bagram to Guantanamo to the Saudi rehabilitation program to the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and finally back into the hands of Saudi authorities.

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Guantanamo

The Gitmo-Yemen-Flight 253 Connection: What We Know And How We Know It

Justin Elliott | January 6, 2010, 10:12AM

With the news Tuesday that the Obama Administration has decided to halt transfers of Gitmo detainees to Yemen, it's worth taking a closer look at what we do -- and do not -- know about the activity of former detainees in the group known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

That's the al Qaeda "affiliate" that claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas attack over Detroit, and that President Obama has fingered as training and equipping Umar Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man arrested in that incident.

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