The head of the Yemen al-Qaida branch threatens Trump, Elon Musk

Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (AP) – the chief of The Al-Qaida Yemen branch threatened both US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk The War of Israel-Hamas In the Gaza Strip in its first video message since the group’s care last year.

The half-hour video message from Saad Bin Atef Al-Awlaki, who spread online early Saturday via al-Qaida supporters in the Arabian Peninsula, also included calls from solitary wolf activists to assassinate leaders in Egypt, Jordan and the Arab States of the Gulf during the war, which decimated Gaza.

The video of Al-Awlaki’s speech has shown images of Trump and Musk, as well as US vice-president JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth. It also included images of Musk companies logos, including the Tesla electric manufacturer.

“There are no red lines after what happened and arrives at our people in Gaza,” said Al-Awlaki. “Reciprocity is legitimate.”

The Al-Qaida branch of Yemen has long thought of being the most dangerous

Although suspected of being weakened in recent years due to intestine struggles and presumed American drone strikes killing its leaders, the known group of the acronym AQAP had been considered Osama bin Ladenwhich organized the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In 2022, An American drone strike In Afghanistan, killed Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-ZawahriWho also helped to plot on September 11. The September 11 attacks then began decades of war by the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, and masked the rise of the Islamic State group.

Al-Awlaki already has an American bonus of $ 6 million on his head, while Washington says that Al-Awlaki “publicly called on attacks on the United States and its allies”. He replaced the chief of the AQAP, Khalid al-Batarfi, whose death was Announced by the group in 2024.

The War of Israel-Hamas is also an objective of the Houthis

The AQAP seized the War of Israel-Hamas follows the efforts of the Houthi rebels of Yemen to do the same. The group supported by Iran has launched missile attacks against Israel and targeted from commercial ships moving in the corridor of the Red Sea, as well as American warships. The American navy described their campaign against the Houthis as the most intense fight He has faced since the Second World War.

The Trump administration has also launched its own intense strike campaign on the Houthis, which only ended in front of the president Recent trip to the Middle East.

The international Houthi profile has increased while the group remains mired in the longtime war of Yemen. Al-Awlaki could bet on the same thing for his group, which estimated that UN experts have between 3,000 and 4,000 active fighters and passive members. The group collects funds by stealing banks and money exchange stores, as well as by smuggling weapons, counterfeiting of currencies and ransom, according to the UN

Shiite Zaydi Houthis has already denied having worked with Aqap, a Sunni extremist group. However, the AQAP Houthi targeting has dropped in recent years, while activists have continued to attack the forces of the Saudi Arabia who fought against the Houthis.

“While the Houthis gain popularity as leaders of the” Resistance of the Arab and Muslim world “against Israel, Al-Awlaki seeks to question their domination by presenting themselves as also concerned about the situation in Gaza,” said Mohammed Al-Basha, an expert in Yemen of the Basha Report Consulting Society.

“For a community of national security and foreign policy increasingly disengaged by Yemen, this video is a clear reminder: Yemen is always important.”