A documentary produced by German television condemned leaders of the Islah Party, the Yemeni branch of the so-called Muslim brotherhood, including the commander of its military wing, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, and other leaders, including Abdel Majid al-Zindani, accusing them of having close association with the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.
“The Islah Party linked to the Saudi-led coalition has a close relationship with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, in which the leaders and elements of the organisation are involved in the war alongside the forces of the so-called legitimate government,” according to a film named “Dirty War in Yemen”, produced and broadcast on Deutsche Welle (DW).
In 2017, the United States designated Islah leaders on the wanted list as leaders of al-Qaeda, including Khaled Ali Mabkhout al-Arada (brother of the pro-Saudi Ma’rib governor), who at the time supervised an al-Qaeda camp in Ma’rib and supplied weapons and fighters to al-Qaeda elements, along with Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Defence Minister in the coalition-backed government, Mohammed al-Maqdashi, DW added.
According to the DW, al-Ahmad’s relationship with al-Qaeda is not a new thing. The French Directorate General of External Security revealed it a year before the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, when he was a colonel in the Yemeni army, and had a close relationship with Abdul Majid al-Zindani, who was a confidant of Osama bin Laden.