Ansar al-Sharia, a group affiliated to al-Qaeda in Yemen, has delivered the capital punishment to three of its followers suspected of being spies for Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia, and United States of America, the group announced in its website late on Sunday.
The three spies, who allegedly have provided US Intelligence with vital information that led to the killing of high-ranking leaders of al-Qaeda in the past months, were executed on Saturday morning in the southern restive provinces of Abyan and Shabwa after their written confessions were handed out to the residents in the area, al-Qaeda stronghold in Abyan, eyewitnesses told Yemen Post.
The bodies of three alleged spies-- Hasan Naji Hassan, Saleh al-Jamli, and Ramzi al-Riqi-- were then cut to pieces and put on different parts of Ja'ar town, Abyan and Azan district of Shabwa as a warning to anyone who might think of cooperating with al-Qaeda enemies, particularly the United states, the eyewitnesses added.
As of late, Yemen based al-Qaeda, which is, according the US State Department, the most active cell of the terror network in the world, has strengthened its foothold in the southern provinces of the country, apparently taking an advantage of the distracted government.
Yemen is a vital ally of the west in its war against terrorism, however cooperation between them has been disrupted due to the current political turmoil in the country, leading US to intensify its drone raids on al-Qaeda hideouts and convoys.
U.S managed to kill high-ranking al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, including the notorious American-Yemeni cleric Anwar Awlaqi, who was killed last year by US drone.