Militants in Yemen have released a video threatening to execute a British-born American hostage in three days if its demands to the U.S. government are not met, according to a company that monitors terrorist groups.
The video from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which was purportedly released Thursday, does not specify what those demands are, SITE Intelligence Group said. But in a translation provided by the company, AQAP accuses the U.S. of bombing its fighters. In the video, a man it claims is U.S. citizen Luke Somers is threatened with execution.
In the propaganda video, a man purported to be Somers says he is 33 years old, was born in England but has American citizenship, and was kidnapped in the Yemeni capital Sanaa more than a year ago.
'I'm certain that my life is in danger,' Somers says under duress.
Reuters reported last week that seven Yemeni hostages and one foreigner were freed by Yemeni security forces in an operation in which seven al-Qaeda members were killed, according to the U.S.-allied government. It is unclear whether that operation is related to the video, but a narrator does refer to a recent operation in which its fighters were killed, according to SITE.
IN-DEPTH - Sarah Burke and Phil Helsel
First published December 4 2014, 12:05 AM
Entities 0 Name: U.S. Count: 3 1 Name: Somers Count: 2 2 Name: Yemeni Count: 2 3 Name: Luke Somers Count: 1 4 Name: Arabian Peninsula Count: 1 5 Name: Sarah Burke Count: 1 6 Name: al Qaeda Count: 1 7 Name: SITE Intelligence Group Count: 1 8 Name: AQAP Count: 1 9 Name: American Count: 1 10 Name: Reuters Count: 1 11 Name: England Count: 1 12 Name: Yemen Count: 1 13 Name: Sanaa Count: 1 14 Name: Phil Helsel Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1yRbcQa Title: Al-Qaeda affiliate threatens to kill U.S. hostage after rescue attempt in Yemen Description: Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula threatened to kill an American hostage in Yemen after U.S. commandos launched a rescue operation to free him, according to a video made public Wednesday. Luke Somers, 33, was abducted more than a year ago on a busy street in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
