The United States has offered a reward of up to $10 million for the information on two leaders of the al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) headquartered in Yemen. AQAP is considered the most lethal branch of al Qaeda hence the reward money.
The State Department said it would pay up to $6m for leads on Saad bin Atef Al Awlaki, head of the terrorist group’s operations in Yemen’s Shabwah province, and up to $4m for Ibrahim Ahmed Al Qosi who assists AQAP’s overall leader.
Al Qosi has been an Al Qaeda member for decades and worked for its previous leader, Osama bin Laden. He was captured in Pakistan in December 2001 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay.
While al Qaeda hasn’t formally claimed attacks in the Shabwah region, there has been an active presence and attack by the militants. The unrest in Shabwah looks more linked to disputes over resources and power. Shabwah hosts Yemen’s only natural gas terminal and there are local tribal groups who believe their land and resources are exploited without sufficient benefit to locals.
