Al Qaeda suspected in deaths of 3 foreign women in Yemen

[CougarKing]

And those Al Qaeda scum strike again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_kidnapping

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Writer Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press Writer – 27 mins ago
SAN'A, Yemen – Shepherds found the mutilated bodies on Monday of two German nurses and a South Korean teacher who were kidnapped while picnicking in an area of Yemen known as a hideout for al-Qaida.

Experts said the killings bore the hallmarks not of local tribesmen but of jihadist militants who had returned home after fighting in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.

The dead women disappeared in the remote northern province of Saada Friday while on an outing with six other foreigners, including a German doctor, his wife and their three young children. The whereabouts of the six were unknown, the Yemeni government said.

Yemeni authorities announced a state of high alert in the area and were "conducting extensive searches and investigations," according to a government statement. Besides the German family, a British man was also missing. They all worked for World Wide Services Foundation, a Dutch aid group helping with medical care in the province.

The incident is the latest attack against foreigners in this impoverished Arab nation on the tip of the Arabian peninsula where al-Qaida has a firm foothold in its remote areas.

The government blamed the kidnapping on a Shiite rebel group that has been leading an uprising in the province for the past several years, but the group denied it had anything to do with it. Initially, Yemeni security officials had reported all nine were killed, but the government later said six were still missing.

Nearly all past fatal attacks against foreigners in Yemen have been by Islamist militants.

(...)

Yemen is the Arab world's poorest nation — and one of its most unstable — making it fertile territory for al-Qaida to set up camp. The country is also in a strategic location, next door to some of the world's most important oil producing nations. It also lies just across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia, an even more tumultuous nation where the U.S. has said militants from the terror network have been increasing their activity.

 

[Yrys]

Hostages' bodies 'found in Yemen'

At least three foreign hostages seized in Yemen have been found dead, officials say. They are
thought to be from a group of nine foreigners, three of them children, who were kidnapped last
week in a mountainous northern area. The group comprised seven Germans, a British national
and a South Korean.

There are conflicting reports from Yemen on exactly how many bodies have been found. One
unconfirmed report says all nine hostages have been killed. Another report - also unconfirmed
- quoted officials saying two children had been found alive. No-one has claimed responsibility
for the kidnapping, which Yemen blamed on a local Shia rebel group.

More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years, often for
ransom. But most have been released unharmed.

Militant groups

Shepherds found the bodies of three hostages on Monday morning in the mountainous northern
Saada province near the town of el-Nashour, according to local officials. "The fate of the other
six abducted people is still unknown," a statement said. However, a security official in the capital
Sanaa said the other six had also been found dead.

To add to the confusion, another local official said seven bodies had been found but that two
children had been found alive, AFP news agency reported. Yemen's Interior Ministry earlier said
the foreigners had been kidnapped while on a picnic on Friday in the area. Authorities said the
group included a German doctor, his wife and three children, and also a male British engineer
and a female South Korean teacher. The kidnapped adults all worked at a hospital in Saada,
the state news agency said.

British and German government officials said on Monday they were investigating reports of the
deaths. "We are pressing ahead for examination of this information. For the moment, I cannot
give any confirmation," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. South Korea's foreign ministry
also said it was checking the reported deaths.

The Yemeni government blamed a local Shia rebel group, led by Abdulmalik al-Houthi, for the
kidnapping. The group has fought a sporadic insurgency in the Zaidi Shia heartland between
Sanaa, and the border with Saudi Arabia. But it denied any involvement in a statement.

A local tribal leader in the area, speaking to the Associated Press news agency anonymously,
blamed al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is known to have operated in the area, and analysts say it may
be regrouping in Yemen after coming under pressure in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

CIA Director Leon Panetta said last week that Somalia and Yemen may have become safe
havens for the group. Yemeni authorities said on Sunday they had arrested Hassan Hussein
Bin Alwan, described as the al-Qaeda's financier in the region and one of its "most dangerous
members".

 

[Retired AF Guy]

There appears to be lots of confusion as to how many bodies have been found. However, at least two reports are stating all nine are dead.

This report quotes a German newspaper who in turn quote German intelligence sources. The second report report is Korean website quoting Associated Press who also state that all nine were killed. According to a senior Yemeni official "the bodies of three German women were found first, and those of the remaining six hostages, including three children, were also found later."

More to follow.

 

[Xiang]

How do they know it's Al Queda?  Did they leave a card?