http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/al-qaeda-affiliate-threatens-to-kill-us-hostage-after-rescue-attempt-in-yemen/2014/12/03/3e24473a-7b65-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html

Al-Qaeda affiliate threatens to kill U.S. hostage after rescue attempt in Yemen
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Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula threatened to kill Luke Somers, an American photojournalist, after U.S. commandos attempted to free him. (Reuters)
By Adam Goldman December 3
Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula threatened to kill an American hostage in Yemen after U.S. commandos launched a rescue operation to free him, according to a video posted Wednesday.

Luke Somers, 33, was abducted in September 2013 on a busy street in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. He had been trying to make money by doing freelance photography and other work in Yemen before his abduction, friends said.

Last week, U.S. Special Operations forces and Yemeni troops attempted to free Somers, who was being held in a remote part of the country, but they narrowly missed him, U.S. officials said. The joint force managed to save several hostages, including some Yemenis, but Somers apparently had been moved.

In the video, Somers makes a brief appearance and pleads for his life: “It’s now been well over a year since I’ve been kidnapped in Sanaa. Basically, I’m looking for any help that can get me out of this situation. I’m certain that my life is in danger. So as I sit here now, I ask if anything can be done, please, let it be done. Thank you very much.”

An al-Qaeda official said Somers will meet his “inevitable fate” if the United States doesn’t meet the group’s demands in three days. The demands were not outlined in the video, which was obtained Wednesday by SITE Intelligence Group.

“We warn Obama and the American government of the consequences of proceeding ahead in any other foolish action,” the al-Qaeda official said in the video.

The three-minute video says that al-Qaeda fighters were killed during the rescue operation in the eastern province of Hadramawt. ​

Somers’s kidnapping has received relatively little attention because of family wishes not to publicize his case. A message left on the answering machine of Somers’s mother was not immediately returned.

Friends say Somers, who was born in Britain and has American citizenship, was intensely private but had a love for the Yemeni people. His Facebook page, which says he studied at Beloit College in Wisconsin, reveals little about his life in Yemen. Another Facebook page pushing for his release shows pictures of Somers in Yemen.

One of his friends said he traveled to Yemen in 2010 and was planning to head home to see his family in the United States before he was kidnapped.

The details of his abduction remain murky. It's not clear if he was snatched and sold to al-Qaeda or taken by the terrorist group at the outset.

Adam Goldman reports on terrorism and national security for The Washington Post.

　
http://online.wsj.com/articles/bomb-explodes-outside-iranian-ambassadors-residence-in-yemen-1417597915
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Claims Responsibility for Yemen Car Bomb
Iranian Ambassador is Seen As a Close Ally of the Houthi Rebels
　
By MARIA ABI-HABIB and HAKIM ALMASMARI CONNECT
Updated Dec. 3, 2014 12:42 p.m. ET
A bomb exploded outside the Iranian ambassador’s residence in San’a on Wednesday morning, killing a security guard and two passersby, Yemen’s interior ministry officials said. Photo: Reuters
SAN’A, Yemen—Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the deadly car-bomb attack that targeted the Iranian ambassador’s residence in San’a on Wednesday morning.

A security guard and five civilians were killed in the attack, which also injured 11 people and damaged windows in nearby buildings, security officials said.

Hossein Niknam, Iran’s new ambassador to Yemen, was unharmed in the blast. The ambassador is seen as a close ally of the Houthi rebels, who represent the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, and some of the group’s officials privately claimed that they have received arms and military training from Iran.

“The ambassador was newly appointed and the attack won't affect Iran’s influence in Yemen,” said Ahmed Bahri, head of the political office for the Haq party, seen as the political arm of the Houthis. “The attack targeted Iran to send a message to the Houthis.”

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is also known as AQAP, vowed to wreak havoc on the Houthis after the rebels took the Yemeni capital in September.

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But Mr. Bahri praised the Houthis’ ability to thwart AQAP across Yemen. He claimed that dozens of AQAP members have been killed or imprisoned since the Houthis’ sweep across the country. In October, a ground assault on Rada city dislodged AQAP and killed several senior members of the terrorist organization.

“We are confident that terror attacks will decrease in the weeks to come,” said Mr. Bahri. “We have succeeded in weakening al Qaeda and they are gradually losing their foothold in San'a.”

Ali Al Jaradi, an official with the Islah party, warned Houthi leaders that their continued expansion would stoke more sectarian violence across the country. Islah is a popular Sunni party that has been at loggerheads with the Houthis, but it signed a reconciliation deal with the group last week. When the Houthis took over San’a in September, they forced the resignation of the prime minister, an Islah official.

“The majority of Houthi targets—whether militarily or politically—have been against Sunnis, which resulted in more violence one way or the other,” said Mr. Jaradi.

“The Houthi attacks have only targeted Sunnis, not differentiating between extremists like al Qaeda or Sunni civil political leaders or businessmen.”

Write to Maria Abi-Habib at maria.habib@wsj.com