West Point CTC Sentinel: "Al-Qa`ida’s Yemeni Expatriate Faction in Pakistan"

Written by Administrator Tuesday, 22 November 2011 23:25

Ever since Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a transatlantic commercial airliner on Christmas Day 2009, public attention has been firmly fixed on al-Qa`ida’s latest regional franchise based in Yemen—a focus that has only increased in intensity following a subsequent cargo bomb plot thwarted in late 2010. Unbeknownst to many Americans, there is another prolific and deadly Yemeni terrorist network within al-Qa`ida that is operating far beyond the confines of the Arabian Peninsula. This network includes skilled bomb makers, martyrdom operatives, and senior commanders tightly ensconced with al-Qa`ida’s top leadership in the rugged terrain on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. During the past year, these individuals have demonstrated their remarkable ingenuity, tech-savvy, and deadly precision. They have been linked to some of the most serious attacks to take place in the Afghan-Pakistani region, including the dramatic suicide bombing in late December 2009 that killed seven agents from the Central Intelligence Agency and a Jordanian intelligence officer at an Afghan forward operating base near the border with Pakistan.

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