Gulf | Yemen
Al Qaida 'lacks leadership'
Al Qaida activists in Yemen do not follow Osama Bin Laden, Nasser Al Bahri, a former bodyguard of Bin Laden, told Gulf News.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Correspondent
- Published: 23:49 September 8, 2008
Sana'a: Al Qaida activists in Yemen do not follow Osama Bin Laden, Nasser Al Bahri, a former bodyguard of Bin Laden, told Gulf News.
The 33-year old Al Bahri, also known as Abu Jandal, joined Al Qaida in 1996 and spent four years in Afghan-istan. He had orders to kill Bin Laden if his boss was on the brink of being captured.
Al Bahri was arrested at Sana'a airport on his way back to Afghanistan, on suspicion of being involved in the suicide bombing of the American destroyer USS Cole in September 2000.
Interrogation
Al Bahri had spent nearly two years in prison and was interrogated by US Federal Bureau of Investigation officers.
He was released in 2002, along with other Al Qaida members, after making a pledge to the government that they would not be involved in armed activity inside Yemen.
Al Bahri plans to establish a think-tank on jihad in the Yemeni capital, where he lives under house arrest. He is now looking to fund his new venture, which he claims has the backing of the Yemeni authorities.
While the younger generation of Al Qaida accuses Al Bahri of betrayal for his refusal to carry out operations in Yemen, Al Bahri claims Bin Laden had condemned using Yemen as a battleground.
"Osama Bin Laden has a clear strategic vision, but the groups who call themselves Al Qaida aren't organised. There is no new generation and there is no effective leadership in Yemen," Al Bahri explained.
Loose links
"Qasim Al Raymi and Nasser Al Wahayshi don't understand what Osama wants," said Al Bahri, in reference to the two self-proclaimed leaders of Al Qaida in Yemen. Al Bahri admits that the duo may be loosely connected to Osama, but those links are very weak.
Al Raymi, Al Wahayshi and a third operator are the last who are still at large out of the 23 Al Qaida activists who escaped from a maximum-security prison here in February 2006. Fifteen of them were either arrested or they surrendered, and five were killed in raids.
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