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21:16 GMT
SANAA, Oct 11 (KUNA) -- Al-Qaeda's Military Chief in Yemen Qassim Al-Rimi
announced Monday the establishment of an "Aden-Abyan Army" to "liberate the
country of crusaders and their apostate agents," in an Internet audio tape,
published in one of Al-Qaeda's website.
In the 15-minute-long tape, Al-Rimi said that they "are preparing to
implement the first steps of the Aden-Abyan Army to defend the Islamic world,
noting that they will "free this land of crusaders and their apostate agents."
"This army is in its early stages," he said and calling for help from
jihadists and their supporters in the audio.
In the audio tape also, Al-Rimi said "snipers and explosives" had been used
in recent months to target police and security forces in southern and eastern
Yemen, adding that the group was "encouraged" by the success of such attacks.
Al-Rimi was among 23 people captured in February 2006 but fled prison
before being appointed as the top commander for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Gulf,
after the two Al-Qaeda branches (Saudi Arabia and Yemen) joined together.
Earlier, the US Ambassador in Yemen said Washington was committed to
working with the Yemeni government in Sanaa to defeat Al-Qaeda. (end)
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KUNA 120016 Oct 10NNNN