Aden: Al Qaida has threatened to sever the hands of “corrupt” officials in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, where the militants have been trying to impose their strict version of Sharia law.
“After we eliminated agents of the United States in Hadramawt and after we fought witchcraft and sorcery, we warn all corrupt officials in Hadramawt... that we will apply Allah’s law by kidnapping them and severing their hands,” said a statement signed by Ansar Al Sharia, the name under which Al Qaida in Yemen sometimes operates.
The statement was printed on leaflets distributed in the province, residents said.
Militants from the group recently distributed similar leaflets forbidding women to leave their homes without a male guardian and threatening to punish those who failed to comply with Sharia.
Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or Aqap, is active across several parts of Yemen, taking advantage of a collapse of central authority during a 2011 uprising that ousted longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Aqap is considered by Washington as the most dangerous affiliate of the Al Qaida because of its role in failed attacks against the United States.
In addition to launching regular attacks on the security forces, Aqap has also murdered several people it accused of sorcery or being homosexual, citing Islamic law. It has also severed the hands of citizens it accused of theft.
