AQAP issues bounty for key Yemen figures

[European Knight]

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/08/mi...t/yemen-crisis

(CNN)—Al Qaeda has fired a verbal salvo in a multifaction battle over Yemen, saying it's offering 20 kilograms of gold to anyone who kills or captures two prominent Shia Muslim opponents, including the leader of the rebels who overtook Yemen's capital.

Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in a news release and wanted poster distributed online, offers the reward for the death or capture of Houthi leader Abdelmalik Bedrudin Al-Houthi and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Converted to currency, the gold reward would be worth about $774,000. AQAP referred to Al-Houthi and Saleh as the "two heads of evil."

AQAP is one of several factions fighting to control Yemen. With Sunni Islamic roots, AQAP is a bitter enemy of the Houthi faction, which is Shia and widely believed to be supported by Iran.

Yemen has been descending into chaos in the weeks since Houthi rebels -- minority Shiites who have long complained of being marginalized in the majority Sunni country -- forced Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi from power in January.

The Houthis, allied with fighters loyal to Saleh, have since faced resistance from not only AQAP, but also a number of groups including forces loyal to Hadi.

Also opposing the Houthis are Saudi Arabia and other predominantly Sunni nations, which last month began airstrikes against the rebels.

At least 540 people -- including 311 civilians -- have died as a result of the fighting, the United Nations said Wednesday. A U.N. expert on refugees said other nations should prepare for "massive displacement" of Yemenis seeking safety.

"The international community must prepare for a worst case scenario," Chaloka Beyani, a professor of International Law at the London School of Economics, said. "While efforts to reach a diplomatic solution are essential, the picture on the ground is extremely bleak and humanitarian responses must be stepped up as a matter of urgency."

About 1,000 people have already fled their homes during the two weeks of conflict.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/wo...-in-yemen.html

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-deploys-w...l?soc_src=copy

Iran deploys warships off Yemen's coast

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, state media reported, establishing a military presence off the coast of Yemen where Saudi Arabia is leading a bombing campaign to oust the Iran-allied Houthi movement.

The Alborz destroyer and Bushehr support vessel sailed from Bandar Abbas on a mission to protect Iranian shipping from piracy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in comments cited by Press TV.

Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies have imposed an air and naval blockade on Yemen as part of a two-week campaign to oust the Houthis, who have taken most of the country and forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.

Iran has condemned the campaign and called for dialogue. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of providing military support to the Houthis, a charge the Islamic Republic denies.

The Iranian ships will patrol the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen, and the Red Sea, Sayyari said. The area is one of the world's most important shipping routes and a gateway between Europe and the Middle East.

[Darth Revan]

The era of bounty hunters comesback. Just like it was predicted

[European Knight]

It's their WWII