Militant Al Qaeda extremist group chop off boy's hand in Yemen

Militant Islamic extremists from Yemen's Al-Qaeda linked group, Partisans in Sharia, have been implementing strict Sharia law in the town of Jaar. On Sunday they chopped the hand off a 15 year old boy and a man, then paraded the severed limbs around town.

Internal disruption and political turmoil within Yemen has paved the way for the emergence of Islamic extremist groups who have taken advantage of the power vacuum to seize control of several towns in the Abyan province. The al-Qaeda linked group, Partisans in Sharia that control Jaar in Abyan, have begun to implement the strictest form of Sharia law. On Sunday the group summoned town residents to watch as Sharia law was meted out to two people, one a 15 year old boy. Both individuals were accused of stealing electrical cables and had their hands publicly chopped off by sword. According to the Arab Times, witnesses were afraid to give their names as feared reprisals, but confirmed the event had taken place. Both hands were then paraded round the town by the militants who warned that theft will not be tolerated under al-Qaeda rule, the Yemen Post reported. Neither report indicates if a trial took place to determine the guilt of the two accused. Aljazeera says that the tribes in the Abyan area had close ties to al-Qaeda in the past but have now lost sympathy with them, since the Partisans of Sharia captured Zinjibar and other regional towns. Locals have suffered suicide bomb attacks, the imposition of militant control, and now the harsh edict of Sharia law. David Petraeus, director of the CIA, issued a statement on Sept 13 saying al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

“has emerged as the most dangerous regional node in the global jihad.”

(Sydney Morning Herald)