A group of Muslim leaders in Yemen issued a warning on Thursday, saying they will call for jihad, or a holy war, if the United States invades the country to fight al-Qaeda, Associated Press reported.
The clergymen belong to the Yemeni Clerics Association, whose head, influential religious leader Sheikh Abdulmajeed al-Zendani, is on the U.S. list of terrorists linked to al-Qaeda.
“If any foreign country insists on aggression and the invasion of the country or interference, in a military or security way, Muslim sons are duty bound to carry out jihad and fight the aggressors,” their statement signed by 150 clerics said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said early this week the he doesn’t intend to send ground troops to Yemen, but instead backs the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to wage the fight against the terrorists.
However, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said on Wednesday that the Pentagon should consider targeting al-Qaeda extremists in Yemen with armed drones, air strikes, or covert operations.
The Pentagon increased its military aid to Yemen this year, helping with training local security forces and providing financial aid to the government of the Gulf Arab country.
Yemen stepped up its efforts against the Islamist militants in recent weeks, moving more troops to the eastern region of the country. The government also warned Yemenis against “hiding any al-Qaeda elements” in their homes.
On Tuesday night, security forces killed al-Qaeda leader Abdullah al-Midhar, who was hiding inside a house in the mountainous region of Shabwa Province. Four more group members were detained.
The Yemeni military is also fighting the Houthi rebel group in the north of the country, and a secessionist movement in the south.
In January 2009, al-Qaeda declared a merging of their Saudi and Yemeni branches, forming a semi-independent Arabian Peninsula front. Some analysts warned that if al-Qaeda were not contained in Yemen, the country could soon become another Afghanistan.
The Nigerian man who was accused of trying to detonate a homemade explosive in the U.S. airplane on the Christmas Day was allegedly trained in al-Qaeda camps in Yemen.
The clergymen belong to the Yemeni Clerics Association, whose head, influential religious leader Sheikh Abdulmajeed al-Zendani, is on the U.S. list of terrorists linked to al-Qaeda.
“If any foreign country insists on aggression and the invasion of the country or interference, in a military or security way, Muslim sons are duty bound to carry out jihad and fight the aggressors,” their statement signed by 150 clerics said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said early this week the he doesn’t intend to send ground troops to Yemen, but instead backs the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to wage the fight against the terrorists.
However, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said on Wednesday that the Pentagon should consider targeting al-Qaeda extremists in Yemen with armed drones, air strikes, or covert operations.
The Pentagon increased its military aid to Yemen this year, helping with training local security forces and providing financial aid to the government of the Gulf Arab country.
Yemen stepped up its efforts against the Islamist militants in recent weeks, moving more troops to the eastern region of the country. The government also warned Yemenis against “hiding any al-Qaeda elements” in their homes.
On Tuesday night, security forces killed al-Qaeda leader Abdullah al-Midhar, who was hiding inside a house in the mountainous region of Shabwa Province. Four more group members were detained.
The Yemeni military is also fighting the Houthi rebel group in the north of the country, and a secessionist movement in the south.
In January 2009, al-Qaeda declared a merging of their Saudi and Yemeni branches, forming a semi-independent Arabian Peninsula front. Some analysts warned that if al-Qaeda were not contained in Yemen, the country could soon become another Afghanistan.
The Nigerian man who was accused of trying to detonate a homemade explosive in the U.S. airplane on the Christmas Day was allegedly trained in al-Qaeda camps in Yemen.
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