Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said on Sunday it executed 11 people, including journalist Mohammed Al-Muqri, who had been kidnapped in October 2015 from the city of Mukalla in Hadhramaut.
The Yemen-based group, considered by the US as the most dangerous al-Qaeda affiliate, said the victims were accused of “spying.”
It added that the executions were disclosed following requests from families seeking information on the fate of their loved ones.
The group then specified that journalist Al-Muqri, who worked for Yemen Today channel, was executed during the time of his abduction, charged with espionage against national security. He was taken from his home in Mukalla.
AQAP also announced the execution of Naji A-Zuheiri, and described him as “a spy who collaborated with Yemen’s political security and the Americans in connection with the first US drone strike in the Arabian Peninsula in 2002 in Marib.”
The list of those executed includes members of the “Al-Bayda Cell,” which AQAP said consists of nine people captured in Al-Somaa area before the group fled the region.
AQAP claimed that some of them had engaged in espionage with US intelligence through Yemen's national security agency, as well as spying for the UAE and the Houthis.
Over the past years, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces have launched extensive campaigns to hunt down al-Qaeda cells, particularly in Abyan and Shabwa provinces.
Prior to this, Yemeni forces, backed by the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, launched military operations to liberate the city of Mukalla and areas in Hadhramaut from al-Qaeda’s grip.
The Yemeni government has previously accused Houthis of coordinating and cooperating with al-Qaeda and ISIS to launch attacks in liberated areas, particularly in Aden, Abyan and Shabwa.
Security reports also showed that the pro-Iranian group released many jailed al-Qaeda terrorist elements following understandings with the organization's leaders.
During its war on terror, the US killed several al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen through drone strikes, especially in the areas of Shabwa, Marib and Al-Bayda.
On March 10, AQAP announced the death of its leader Khalid Batarfi and appointed Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, a successor. However, a statement released by the group did not indicate how Batarfi died.
