Yemen, United States pay Al Qaeda group linked 11 September attacks to fight the Houti Shiites

Yemeni militias backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and the UAE would be paying al-Qaeda's allied factions to refrain from fighting and recruiting al-Qaeda members to fight Shia rebels.

Since 2015, when the civil war broke out in Yemen, the United States, along with its Arab allies, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have supported Sunni troops in the war against the Shiite rebels in Houthi, likely backed by Iran. The United States therefore supports the conflict to contain Iranian expansionist aims in the Middle East.

But the fighters backed by Iran are just one of the many armed factions involved in the Yemeni Civil War. Another faction is that of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic peninsula (AQAP), which is believed to be the strongest surviving branch of the infamous group that carried out the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.

For several years, the US-led coalition in Yemen has claimed that the field efforts would greatly reduce the strength and the ability to fight AQAP and that the territorial control of the group would be completely eliminated.

The Associated Press, according to a news investigation, argues that the reason AQAP's activities appear to have declined in Yemen is only because its commanders are being bribed by US-backed Sunni militias and their militia are being recruited to fight. against the Houthi Shiites.

As severe Sunni Salafis, AQAP members view Shiites as apostates and enemies of Islam. They are therefore "effectively on the same side of the Saudi-led coalition". "About 30 officials were interviewed, including Yemeni security officers, militia commanders, tribal mediators and al-Qaeda members." The result is that Sunni militias, backed by the United States, "actually recruit al-Qaeda militants because they are considered exceptional fighters."

The Associated Press report also claims that the Sunni coalition has concluded a series of secret deals with AQAP, under which it would pay its fighters to abandon several Yemeni cities that were under their control. Before leaving these cities, AQAP fighters were allowed to carry tons of military equipment and valuables, including cash. A full-blown case is that AQAP was bribed to abandon the port city of Mukalla, Yemen's fifth largest urban center, and its fighters were allowed to keep their weapons and up to $ 100 million in storage. of money, stolen. In another case, AQAP militants were paid to leave several cities in the Abyan-like province of Yemen, and 250 of them were incorporated into the so-called "seat belt", a Sunni militia backed by the UAE government. AQAP fighters reportedly told their seat belt commanders to "join the devil in front of the Houthis."

The Associated Press notes that there is no evidence that the funds provided to the Yemeni Sunni militias from the United States have ended up in the hands of AQAP. In addition, the US government has repeatedly denied the allegations of Russia and Syria that support various factions of al-Qaeda. However, the Associated Press maintains that the US Pentagon is aware of the secret agreements between the Sunni militia and AQAP, which some say could end up strengthening the most formidable al-Qaida branch still active in the world.

Yemen, United States pay Al Qaeda group linked 11 September attacks to fight the Houti Shiites

| INTELLIGENCE |