In a statement released yesterday on the Internet, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has officially claimed credit for last weekend’s assault on the Yemeni Army base in Al Koud. In what may be a first by a jihadist group, AQAP has underestimated the effects of the operation.
In the statement, which has been translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, AQAP claimed “[t]he killing of nearly 100 soldiers and officers, the wounding of over 150 others, and the capturing of 73 soldiers and officers.” Official reports from Yemen indicate that 185 Yemeni soldiers were killed.
AQAP also documented what it calls the “Spoils” of the operation:
A tank – anti-aircraft .23 caliber Sabtana – a Katyusha rocket launcher with 15 rockets – a 120 caliber mortar cannon – 5 DShKs – 3 PKs – 2 RPGs – 100 Kalashnikovs – a depot of a variety of ammunition – a Kraz truck – 3 military uniforms – 2 ambulances – a large amount of ammunition for the aforementioned weaponry.
And the “Losses of the enemy in terms of weapons”:
The destruction of 3 Katyusha launchers – 2 tanks – 3 Kraz trucks – 12 DC cannons, in addition to the burning of an ammunitions depot.
