Middle East News

Report: Al-Qaeda radicals appoint new leaders in southern Yemen

Mar 30, 2012, 7:59 GMT

Cairo- Radicals with suspected links to al-Qaeda in the volatile region of southern Yemen have named new leaders to replace those killed in recent attacks, reported the Yemeni website Lahj News.

The shake-up included naming al-Khdr Hussein al-Jadani as the chieftain of the terror group in Abyan, according to the report, citing unidentified sources.

Al-Jadani succeeds Abdel Moneim al-Fathani, who was killed in a suspect US drone airstrike two months ago.

'Al-Qaeda used to go public with its leader appointments. But this time, it opted to make secret appointments for fear that the new leaders will be targeted,' added the sources.

Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born radical Islamist cleric who was considered the spiritual leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in September in an attack by a US plane in eastern Yemen.

Militants affiliated to al-Qaeda have strengthened their foothold in Yemen, taking advantage of a year of political turmoil and a weak central government in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

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