With the growing number of Al-Qaeda attacks on governmental security officials, some tend to believe that this proves that Al-Qaeda is as strong as ever in Yemen. I believe the opposite. Killing security officials is not a complicated matter to plan nor does it cost a lot.
The effort for killing a government official is little, as it needs little planning and costs no more than $10 dollars! A couple of bullets, gasoline money for a motorcycle and a couple of loyal followers you are willing to do the attack free of charge are all you need.
The last major attack by Al-Qaeda in Yemen was the U.S. embassy attack two years ago. Even that attack was spoiled completely. This only proves that their presence is not what media pictures it to be. The attack on the British ambassador in Yemen is another sign of weak Al-Qaeda presence in Yemen, as the bombing took place nearly 200 meters away from the car of the British ambassador. Original Al-Qaeda attacks are much more accurate and Iraq and Afghanistan are examples of how destructive Al-Qaeda can be when it attacks.
The U.S. government is trying to shift gears and put the eyes of international media away from the failures of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and Yemen is just the right place to shift eyes towards, especially that Anwar Awlaqi, the Yemeni American wanted Al-Qaeda suspect, is also in Yemen.
We estimated months ago that Al-Qaeda followers in Yemen do not exceed 300. Today, and with the growing number of attacks, we believe that their followers are even less. Al-Qaeda in the last three months has only targeted Yemeni citizens, which in the end is hurting the image of the group. To prove my case, the top Al-Qaeda leader in Jawf, Yemen, handed himself to the government this week.
With the cheap cost ($10) for killing governmental officials in separate attacks, it seems that Al-Qaeda will continue using this cheaper, easier, more accurate, and more convenient method in its fight against what it calls the American ally “Yemen”.

ABOUT Yemen Post Publisher & Chief Editor:

Hakim Almasmari is an American journalist and Middle East expert based in Sana'a, Yemen. His work has appeared for many of the worlds top media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Post, AlJazeera, Fox News, The Guardian, The National, USA Today among numerous others. He has also worked with some of the world’s top organizations. Reporting out of Yemen for nearly eight years, he is the current editor in chief for the Yemen Post. He is a university lecturer in the field of international media and also studied business and law. Considered one of the top experts on Yemen, Almasmari has closely worked with international strategic centers and think tanks helping them better understand Yemen. He is a frequent guest on many international TV outlets discussing current local and international affairs. Almasmari's ancestors are from Yemen, and was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His mother tongue is English and is fluent in Arabic.