Former Guantanamo Detainee Responsible for Yemen Massacre?

I wrote previously about the group of Westerners who went missing in Yemen whilst on a picnic.

The group consisted of a German doctor, his wife and three children, a British engineer and his South Korean wife, and two German nurses. All worked for a Dutch charity in a hospital in Sadaa.

The bodies of three females were found mutilated soon afterwards, and were identified as the Korean lady and the two German nurses, Rita Stumpp and Anita Gruenwald (below).

The Yemeni government is still searching for the other six, and they are presumed dead.

Terrorism experts think that the man responsible may be Said Ali al-Shihri (above), a deputy leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, and former prisoner in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

From Fox:

But terrorism experts say their abductors and killers are almost certainly not a mystery. They say the crimes bear the mark of Al Qaeda, and they fear they are the handiwork of the international terror organization's No. 2 man in the Arabian Peninsula: Said Ali al-Shihri, an Islamic extremist who once was in American custody — but who was released from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And if al-Shihri is behind the gruesome murders and abductions, they say, it raises grave concerns that the scheduled January 2010 closing of the Guantanamo prison and the release of most of its prisoners to foreign countries will galvanize Al Qaeda and compromise American national security.

The nine foreigners — four German adults, three small German children, a British man and a South Korean woman — were abducted on June 12 after they ventured outside the city of Saada without their required police escorts, according to a spokesman from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington. Days later the bodies of Rita Stumpp and Anita Gruenwald, German nurses in training, and Eom Young-sun of South Korea were found shot execution style in the Noshour Valley in the province of Saada, an area known to be a hotbed of Al Qaeda activity.

No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions and murders, but experts say killing women and children is considered off-limits among many jihadist groups — though not to al-Shihri, a Saudi national who was released from Guantanamo in November 2007 and sent to a Saudi Arabian "rehabilitation" program for jihadists. It wasn't long before a "cured" al-Shihri was released from the program, crossed into Yemen and rejoined Al Qaeda, with whom he quickly rose to deputy commander.

In addition to last week's kidnappings, he is believed to have been behind the September attacks that left 16 dead at the U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital of San'a.

“This bears the marks of al-Shihri’s activity and bears the signs of his beliefs and assumptions of his behavior that are not viewed by other jihadists,” said Robert Spencer, terror expert and director of Jihad Watch, referring to the killing of women and presumed killing of the three small children.

Defense officials said that "while there is suspicion that Said Ali al-Shihri is involved in these latest attacks, we can't confirm it."

“There is great presumption of his involvement, but it’s not open and shut,” Spencer said.

“If he believed that these people picnicking in Yemen were aiding in the war against Islam, then he can justify these killings as legitimate — it’s this kind of perspective that this guy holds to, that it’s right to kill people who would normally be considered off-limits,” Spencer said.

“Christians aren’t allowed to proselytize in the Muslim world, and if that’s what was going on here ... well then, there you go."

Bodies of Foreigners Kidnapped in Yemen Found

Yesterday the BBC reported that seven foreigners were kidnapped whilst on a picnic in Yemen.

The party consisted of a German doctor and his wife and three children, a British engineer and a South Korean language teacher.

Today it claims that the bodies of three foreign women have been found in the region where the hostages disappeared:

At least three foreign women, thought to be part of a group which was kidnapped in Yemen, have been found dead, local officials have said.

The group of nine foreign hostages, three of them children, was kidnapped in a mountainous northern area.

It comprised seven Germans, a male British engineer and a female South Korean teacher.

One unconfirmed report citing unnamed security officials said the bodies of more of the foreigners had been found.

Yemen's Interior Ministry earlier said the foreigners were kidnapped while on a picnic on Friday in the north-western province of Saada.

The authorities said the group included a German doctor, his wife and three children.

The kidnapped adults all worked at a hospital in Saada, the state news agency said.

The UK and German foreign ministries said they were investigating reports of the deaths.

The Yemeni government has blamed a local Shia rebel group, Huthi Zaidi, for the kidnapping. The group, which has been fighting the government for the last five years, denied any involvement, AFP reported.

More than 200 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Yemen in the last 15 years. Most have been released unharmed.

Dutch Couple Kidnapped in Yemen

A Dutch couple have been kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen whilst driving in the capital, Sanaa. They are now being held in a remote part of the al-Siraj mountains.

Later, the leader of the al-Siraj tribe claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"We talked to the mayor and the government and everyone important," Sheikh Nasser al-Siraj told AP.

"But no-one listens. So this way we will put pressure on our government and finally get justice."

Ah, a classic Muslim, Arab take on justice - 'do as we want, or we'll be very, very violent.'

The woman and her husband, who works for a water company, were apparently taken to exert pressure on the Yemeni Government over compensation for tribesmen injured in a shoot-out with police.

The Dutch woman spoke to AP reporters yesterday, saying:

"It was a very classical kidnapping situation," she said. "We were offered lunch and tea, and were allowed to take a walk and take pictures."

"It's such an adventure - that's the only way to cope with it," she added, predicting that they would be freed in a day.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of its citizens had been kidnapped, but would not release any further information.

'Bit of an adventure' - she sounds like another Yvonne Ridley, although I suppose they have to get through it somehow.

Hopefully they will be released soon, as were a group of Germans seized in similar circumstances in December 2008.

However, violence has recently stepped up in the country, with suspected al-Qaeda militants murdering South Korean tourists.