Al-Balagh: Yemen: five Islamic groups merged in 'al-Jihad base'
Yemen-Regional, Politics, 10/1/2003

Five Islamic groups from Yemen, the Arab Peninsula, Egypt and Algeria announced merging into an organization called "al-Jihad base," threatening to carry out operation targeting Yemeni officials and western interests, according to al-Balagh paper yesterday.

The paper which issued a statement quoting the said organization said that "strategic amendments were introduced in the structure of al-Qaida organization in Yemen and that its name was changed to al-Jihad base." The statement added that "the new organization includes each of al-Qaida organization, the Egyptian al-Jihad organization, the Yemeni al-Jihad organization, the Islamic Abyan Aden army and the organization of al-Sahaba's grandsons in the Peninsula and the al-Salafeyah group for call in Algeria."

Al-Balagh, which is close to the Islamic circles, added that the new organization is an international "organization to fight Zionists and the crusaders." The statement threatened to "carry out a campaign of assassination targeting the persons of the prime minister Abdul Qader Bajmal and other members of his government and several officials and their children and to attack foreign interests in Yemen," calling on citizens to "be away from areas where al-Nasara (Christians) and diplomatic missions ( among them the Christians ) and companies, because they are evident and legal targets for the believing youths."

The statement added that Yemen's leadership was assigned to "al-Mutaz Biulah al-Qindahari and Yamani," noting that 23 of his followers were killed in clashes with Yemen security forces in November, 2002 in northern Yemen.