Al-Qaeda leader admits fighting alongside coalition forces in 11 fronts in Yemen

Khalid Batarfi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has revealed that al-Qaeda members fighting along with Saudi-led coalition forces against the Yemeni army forces (Sanaa forces).

“Our forces fought alongside the so-called legitimacy and coalition against Ansarullah on 11 fronts in Yemen, especially in Marib and Bayda, and our forces are still fighting. Our role in fighting against the “Houthis” is apparent and cannot be denied,” Khalid Batarfi said in a televised interview published by al-Qaeda’s Al-Malham foundation on Friday.

Batarfi rejected initiatives to end the war in Yemen, calling them misguided and “designed to enable the “Houthis” to take over Yemen.

“Western powers are seeking to empower Shiite local administrations as we have seen in Iraq and Lebanon,” he claimed.

Regarding the Iran-backed Hamas and Islamic Jihad movement, he  strongly criticized the two groups without mentioning them by name.

E.M