Yemen al Qaeda urges jihad, wants Red Sea blocked

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Reuters

The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called for a regional Muslim holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea to cut off U.S. shipments to Israel, a further sign of the group's ambitions to mount new strikes outside its base.

Yemen is in the throes of a major crackdown on the global militant network's regional off-shoot, which grabbed the world's attention when it claimed a failed bomb attack on U.S.-bound plane in December.

Western powers and neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, fear that Yemen's growing instability as it struggles with northern Shi'ite rebels and southern secessionists, may allow al Qaeda to strengthen its operations.

"The Christians, the Jews, and the treacherous apostate rulers have pounced on you ... you have no other way out from this plight other than to wage jihad," the wing's deputy leader, Saeed al-Shehri, said in an audio tape posted on a website often used by Islamist groups.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6173II20100208

[Turbineguy]

1. Oh, that will be unpopular with the Somali pirates!

They depend on the Red Sea traffic.

[cloudbase]

2. That would really piss off the Jordanians.

Their only port is Aqaba. The Israelis get most of their stuff through Haifa/Ashdod.