AFP Locates a New Word

It is late on a Friday and things are getting a bit wild, as the AFP attempts to put a new spin on an old cliche, writing: “The authorities in Yemen, the ancestral home of Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden, …” (My emphasis)

The article is about today’s assassination of ‘Abd al-Aziz Muhammad Bu ‘Abbas, a security official in Mukalla. The AFP’s description of two gunmen on a motorcycle conflicts with this report of three gunmen in a car from al-Tagheer.

Also of note is this post by Clint Watts over at Selected Wisdom. Clint makes the point I have been thinking about, but not blogging about, for the past few days. (Read his post.) Namely that the return of al-Fayfi to Saudi Arabia seems to have unearthed some intelligence nuggets related to two Saudis, Turki Saad Muhammad Qulays al-Shahrani and Ahmad ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Jasir al-Jasir. Yemen is offering 10,000 YR for information leading to their arrest, although to the best of my knowledge bounties and financial incentives have rarely worked in Yemen.

It would be interesting to know if cash rewards were the Yemeni government’s idea or the result of outside influences. Also, while Yemen may be fronting the cash, I highly doubt that these two individuals are planning something in Yemen. For my money, these Saudis are looking farther afield. Maybe al-Fayfi’s arrest is enough to spoil the pot.