The government of Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh supported and even helped direct al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), according to allegations made to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit.
A former Al-Qaeda operative who says he later turned informant to the Yemeni government made the claim during three days of interviews in a location outside the Gulf.
Hani Muhammad Mujahid, 38, told Al Jazeera that “many al-Qaeda leaders were under the complete control of Ali Abdullah Saleh,” who was ousted from power in February 2012 amid a popular uprising.
“Ali Abdullah Saleh turned Al-Qaeda into an organised criminal gang,” said Mujahid. “He was not only playing with the West. He was playing with the entire world.”
The claims of the married father of three appear in a new documentary, Al-Qaeda Informant, which airs on Al Jazeera from June 4 at 20:00 GMT.
Source: Al Jazeera
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