Yemen’s Al Qaeda denounces beheadings

SANAA — A senior military commander of Al Qaeda in Yemen denounced on Monday beheadings carried out by the group's Islamic State rivals, calling the act and its filming for propaganda purposes barbarous and asserting that US drone strikes are expanding Al Qaeda's popularity in the country.

The comments, by Nasr Bin Ali Al Ansi, came in a video response to questions by reporters posted on one of the group's Twitter accounts. It appeared to have been recorded before Saturday's killing of two hostages — an American and a South African — during an attempted US rescue from Al Qaeda militants. Both groups regularly execute prisoners but beheadings and other brutal acts have become a trademark of IS.

Al Qaeda in Yemen — seen by Washington as the group's most dangerous Al Qaeda affiliate globally — has criticised the IS before for trying to expand its territory.

IS extremists initially fought to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. But other groups, including Al Qaeda central command, denounced them as too violent. The group now controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

Al Ansi said that previous beheadings by Al Qaeda in Yemen were "individual acts" and were not endorsed by the leadership. He appeared to be referring to the beheading of 15 Yemeni soldiers by suspected Al Qaeda militants in August.

"Filming and promoting it among people in the name of Islam and Jihad is a big mistake and not acceptable whatever the justifications are,"  Ansi said. "This is very barbaric," he added.

Al Qaeda in Yemen has long faced attacks by US drone aircraft that have killed several of its leaders but also scores of civilians, drawing criticism from the government and human rights groups.

Ansi said that the drone strikes stoke popular outrage that boosts Al Qaeda's popularity.

"While they kill some of the jihadis, the US drone strikes increase the sympathy of Muslims with us," he said, adding: "Thanks to the blood of the martyrs, the call for jihad spreads."