Saturday, 15 October 2011
The U.S.-born militant Anwar Awlaki was killed in a drone strike on Sept. 30 in Yemen, which President Barack Obama hailed as a “major blow” to al-Qaeda. Awlaki’s son was among seven militants killed in a drone strike on Oct. 14 in Yemen. (File photo)
The head of the media department of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and six other militants were killed in an air raid on militant outposts in Yemen, and gunmen retaliated by blowing up a gas export pipeline, Yemeni officials and residents said on Saturday.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry said Ibrahim al-Banna, an Egyptian national, died in a raid by Yemeni war planes on militant positions in Shabwa province in southern Yemen late on Friday
Banna is the second senior AQAP figure to be killed, after a U.S. drone on September 30 killing a key leader of AQAP, the U.S.-born militant Anwar al- Awlaki.
A Yemeni official described Banna, 55, as one of the most dangerous militants on their wanted list.
Awlaki's son is also among the 24 militants killed in air strikes targeting al-Qaeda in Yemen, local officials said.
“Abderrahman Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in the raid,” a tribal source told AFP, adding that he had received confirmation from the militant-controlled Yemeni hospital where the dead and wounded from Friday evening’s strikes were taken.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry said Ibrahim al-Banna, an Egyptian national, died in a raid by Yemeni war planes on militant positions in Shabwa province in southern Yemen late on Friday
Banna is the second senior AQAP figure to be killed, after a U.S. drone on September 30 killing a key leader of AQAP, the U.S.-born militant Anwar al- Awlaki.
A Yemeni official described Banna, 55, as one of the most dangerous militants on their wanted list.
Awlaki's son is also among the 24 militants killed in air strikes targeting al-Qaeda in Yemen, local officials said.
“Abderrahman Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in the raid,” a tribal source told AFP, adding that he had received confirmation from the militant-controlled Yemeni hospital where the dead and wounded from Friday evening’s strikes were taken.
Residents and local officials said they believed the raids were conducted by foreign aircraft.
Banna left his native country to Yemen in 1993 to work as a teacher but never came back. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Sharia and Law from al-Azhar University and had a background of joining Salafist groups back in Egypt.
He also trained Abu Ayoub al-Masry, the Qaeda leader in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is thought to be killed in April.
In 2010 Banna was arrested but through multiple prison breaks that rocked Yemen, the Qaeda senior figure managed to escape.
Meanwhile, unidentified assailants, believed to be militants, later blew up a gas pipeline which transports gas from Maarib province to Belhaf port on the Arabian Sea.
Yemen's LNG export facility at Balhaf, which is led by French oil major Total (TOTF.PA) with three South Korea companies holding stakes, opened in 2009 and was the largest industrial project every carried out in Yemen.
Witnesses said the flames from the gas pipeline could be seen from several kilometres away.
“The pumping of liquefied natural gas from the Balhaf terminal was stopped because of an explosion on one of its main pipelines,” the engineer working at the site said.
In addition to the ongoing protests calling for the country’s President Abdullah Saleh to cede power, Yemen is marred with a heavy Qaeda presence in its southern region.
Banna left his native country to Yemen in 1993 to work as a teacher but never came back. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Sharia and Law from al-Azhar University and had a background of joining Salafist groups back in Egypt.
He also trained Abu Ayoub al-Masry, the Qaeda leader in Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is thought to be killed in April.
In 2010 Banna was arrested but through multiple prison breaks that rocked Yemen, the Qaeda senior figure managed to escape.
Meanwhile, unidentified assailants, believed to be militants, later blew up a gas pipeline which transports gas from Maarib province to Belhaf port on the Arabian Sea.
Yemen's LNG export facility at Balhaf, which is led by French oil major Total (TOTF.PA) with three South Korea companies holding stakes, opened in 2009 and was the largest industrial project every carried out in Yemen.
Witnesses said the flames from the gas pipeline could be seen from several kilometres away.
“The pumping of liquefied natural gas from the Balhaf terminal was stopped because of an explosion on one of its main pipelines,” the engineer working at the site said.
In addition to the ongoing protests calling for the country’s President Abdullah Saleh to cede power, Yemen is marred with a heavy Qaeda presence in its southern region.
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