Yemen’s al-Qaida branch leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel’s attack on Gaza
The Hindu
Al-Qaida leader threatens Trump and Musk over Gaza war, as AQAP seizes on Israel-Hamas conflict.
The leader of al-Qaida's Yemen branch has threatened both U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip in his first video message since taking over the group last year.
The half-hour video message by Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, which spread online early Saturday via supporters of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also included calls for lone-wolf militants to assassinate leaders in Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf Arab states over the war, which has decimated Gaza.
The video of al-Awlaki's speech showed images of Trump and Musk, as well as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It also included images of logos of Musk's businesses, including the electric carmaker Tesla.
“There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza," al-Awlaki said. "Reciprocity is legitimate.”
Though believed to be weakened in recent years due to infighting and suspected U.S. drone strikes killing its leaders, the group known by the acronym AQAP had been considered the most dangerous branch of al-Qaida still operating after the 2011 killing by U.S. Navy SEALs of founder Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In 2022, a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan killed bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, who also helped plot 9/11. The Sept. 11 attacks then began decades of war by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq, and fomented the rise of the Islamic State group.
Al-Awlaki already has a $6 million U.S. bounty on his head, as Washington says al-Awlaki “has publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies.” He replaced AQAP leader Khalid al-Batarfi, whose death was announced by the group in 2024.
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