Yemen’s al Qaeda leader vows to free prisoners

In his statement, the leader of Yemen-based al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants told prisoners not to “be lured by their jailers”
and false promises of a “lush life if they abandon jihad,” according
to the AP.

{mosads}Al-Wuhayshi, a former aide to Osama bin Laden, told the
prisoners to “rejoice … as your brothers are pounding the walls of injustice
and demolishing the thrones of oppression.”

“We have not forgotten you and will never forget you,”
he said, according to the AP, adding that “victory is imminent.”

While al-Wuhayshi did not provide specifics about a jailbreak
in his message, al Qaeda affiliates have recently used similar tactics.

Militants from al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) attacked Iraq’s Abu Ghraib
prison last month, allowing 500 detainees to escape
from the Iraqi jail.

The potential for an attempted attack on Yemeni prisons
could raise concerns about sending Guantánamo Bay detainees there, which
President Obama said he hoped to do as part of his plan to close the Guantánamo
detention facility.

Republicans immediately responded to Obama’s call to
transfer detainees to Yemen with concerns about escaping prisoners, pointing to
previous jailbreaks there.