Al Qaeda Now Runs A Mini-State In Yemen

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Yara Bayoumy, Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari, Reuters: How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger – and richer

One unintended consequence of the war in Yemen: Al Qaeda now runs its own mini-state, flush with funds from raiding the local central bank and levying taxes at the local port.

DUBAI/CAIRO – Once driven to near irrelevance by the rise of Islamic State abroad and security crackdowns at home, al Qaeda in Yemen now openly rules a mini-state with a war chest swollen by an estimated $100 million in looted bank deposits and revenue from running the country’s third largest port.

If Islamic State’s capital is the Syrian city of Raqqa, then al Qaeda’s is Mukalla, a southeastern Yemeni port city of 500,000 people. Al Qaeda fighters there have abolished taxes for local residents, operate speedboats manned by RPG-wielding fighters who impose fees on ship traffic, and make propaganda videos in which they boast about paving local roads and stocking hospitals.

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Update: Al-Qaeda gaining power & money from Saudi-led intervention in Yemen – report (RT)

WNU Editor: The question needs to be asked .... why is it that when the U.S. and its allies try to win the "hearts and minds" of the locals .... they fail. But when Al Qaeda does it .... they succeed .... Al Qaeda Winning Hearts And Minds Over ISIS In Yemen With Social Services (IBTimes).