Yemen: US exaggerates al-Qaeda threat

Former Guantanamo inmate Said Ali al-Shihri is currently second-in-command
for the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/140130.html


Yemen says the threat of al-Qaeda in the country has been blown out of proportion, insisting that it is Sana'a's job to fight the militants.

Western media outlets "exaggerate the size of al-Qaeda and the danger that it poses to Yemen's stability and security," AFP said, citing a report published by the state-run Saba news agency.

US officials had earlier referred to increasing concerns in Washington about the looming threat posed by al-Qaeda in Yemen, saying it was planning to step up pressure on the militants.

Reports in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post also cite US officials who spoke of a possible expansion of US operations in Yemen, including CIA drone strikes.

"Yemen insists that fighting terrorism in Yemen remains the responsibility of Yemeni security authorities," said a Sanaa official, according to Saba.

"Yemeni forces, with the support of friends and brothers, are capable of bearing their full responsibilities in eliminating Al-Qaeda elements," he added.

The militants, believed to be holed up in Yemen -- dubbed by the US as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- were thrown into the spotlight following an alleged attempt by a group member to bomb a US-bound flight on Christmas Day, 2009.

The US military reportedly conducted a secret air strike in May against suspected militants in the remote desert of Marib province.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International charged the US with violating international law by carrying out attacks and cooperating in 'extrajudicial executions' in the impoverished Arab nation.

In a report published in June, the human rights watchdog said the United States used cluster bombs on a cruise missile in Yemen, killing 55 people, mostly civilians, in al-Ma'jalah in Abyan province.