Family Feud in Yemen Kills Senior Al Qaeda Leader and 16 Militants
Tariq al-Dahab has been killed in a family feud in al-Masameh. While there is no official word as to what started the fighting, al-Dahab was killed by Hizam, his half-brother. It appears that once al-Dahab was killed, Hizam and several of his supporters fled the scene and went to another home in the area. Al-Dahab’s supporters and fighters followed and there was a gun battle where Hizam was at. The fighting resulted in the deaths of 16 people and Hizam was one of the dead.
Al-Dahab was very prominent in Yemen with al Qaeda, especially once his sister finally married Anwar al-Awlaki. Last month, al-Dahab and his followers took over Radda, which is located about 80 miles east of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. Once authorities released 15 of al-Dahab’s followers from jail, the militants left the town.
The dispute between family members is said to have been over money. Apparently, one member of the al-Dahab family had passed away and he was very wealthy. The man had 20 sons and four wives and the inheritance was what started the family feud.
There was another al-Qaeda fighter killed in Zinjibar on Thursday, as well as eight others injured. Yemen is less than a week away from its presidential elections, which are expected to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh. The elections are supposed to bring Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into power, which is exactly what is called for in a peace plan approved by Saleh. President Saleh is currently in the United States to get medical treatment for burn injuries he suffered last year during an attack on his presidential palace.
Security in Yemen has been virtually nonexistent since the Arab Spring uprising last year. Al Qaeda is very active in Yemen, but with the death of al-Awlaki by a U.S. drone strike, the terrorist organization has lost a lot of its ability to plan and carry out terrorist attacks overseas.
