Saudi Arabia’s U.S. allied military coalition has cut multiple deals with al-Qaeda in order to maintain ground in the ongoing civil war in Yemen, a report by The Associated Press on Monday revealed.
In their report published on Monday, the AP noted that the Saudi-led coalition “cut secret deals with al Qaeda fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment, and wads of looted cash,” while “hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself.”
However, these deals have now allowed the organization to grow in strength nearly 17 years after they carried out the 9/11 attacks. U.S. officials were reportedly aware of the deals but agreed to hold out on drone strikes. However, a Pentagon spokesman denied any complicity with the Islamic State-linked group.
“Since the beginning of 2017, we have conducted more than 140 strikes to remove key AQAP leaders and disrupt its ability to use ungoverned spaces to recruit, train and plan operations against the U.S. and our partners across the region,” Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a senior Saudi official said that the Saudi-led coalition “continues its commitment to combat extremism and terrorism.”
The war against al-Qaeda comes as Saudi Arabia moves to destroy the Iranian backed Houthi rebels with the help of its Arab allies such as the United Arab Emirates. However, this objective is also shared by al-Qaeda, whom the coalition aims to eradicate alongside all other Islamist groups from the Arabian Peninsula.
“Elements of the U.S. military are clearly aware that much of what the U.S. is doing in Yemen is aiding AQAP and there is much angst about that,” Michael Horton, a fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a U.S. analysis group that tracks terrorism, told the agency. “However, supporting the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against what the U.S. views as Iranian expansionism takes priority over battling AQAP and even stabilizing Yemen,”
“It is now almost impossible to untangle who is AQAP and who is not since so many deals and alliances have been made,” he continued.
A report last month found that the U.S. had intensified its support for assistance to Saudi Arabia by providing greater intelligence to coalition forces, despite concerns among lawmakers over the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict given the extraordinarily high number of civilian casualties.
In March, the Pentagon announced that they would let Congress decide whether it has proper authority to continue the U.S.’s involvement, although the attempt was ultimately rejected.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.