An Islamist group linked to al Qaeda has denied that its media chief was killed in an air raid in southern Yemen two weeks ago.
The group, Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), also took responsibility for an explosion at France’s Total gas pipeline in mid-October that halted supplies to the Belhaf LNG plant.
In leaflets distributed in mosques and markets in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, it described government reports of Ibrahim al-Banna’s killing as “lies”. “We denounce American attacks on the Arabian Peninsula which is based on crusader thinking,” said the leaflet, referring to U.S. drone attacks in Yemen. “The blood of Muslims will not be spilled in vain.” Yemen’s government says Ansar al-Sharia is the Yemeni wing of al Qaeda. Some analysts say other local militant Islamist groups could be at work.
