Al-Qaeda Claims It Is Fighting Alongside U.S.-backed Coalition in Yemen

Qasim al-Rimi, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP — al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, shown) told the group’s media arm, al-Malahem, on April 30 that his followers are now allied to the U.S. and Yemeni government-backed forces fighting against Shia rebels known as Houthis.

The Iranian-aligned Houthis (officially called Ansar Allah) are fighting against forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. “We fight alongside all Muslims in Yemen, together with different Islamic groups,” al-Rimi said in the interview. These include “the Muslim Brotherhood and also our brothers among the sons of [Sunni] tribes,” he said.

Britain’s the Independent explained in a report:

While al-Rimi did not elaborate on what he meant by “alongside,” many Sunni tribal militias, as well as the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood movement and conservative Salafis, are allied to the exiled Yemeni government fighting against Shia rebels known as Houthis who seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The militias receive extensive funding and arms from the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition, which has supported President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi with air strikes and ground troops since March 2015.

 

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