Al-Qaeda says swapped prisoners with Houthis in Yemen

Al-Qaeda said on Saturday it had swapped prisoners with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, retrieving two of its fighters in the exchange, SITE Intelligence Group reported.

Two Houthi prisoners were traded for Al-Qaeda jihadists Al-Qaqa al-Bihani and Muwahhid al-Baydhnani on February 14, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was quoted as saying.

AQAP, and rival militants loyal to the Islamic State group, have thrived in the chaos of Yemen’s civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

The United States considers AQAP among the most dangerous branches of the global jihadist network.

A security source in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa confirmed the prisoner exchange to AFP, but gave no further details.

According to SITE, two Houthi prisoners were released as part of the swap.

Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to back the government after the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and large swathes of the country.

The conflict has since killed tens of thousands of people and triggered what the United Nations terms the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with millions of people displaced.

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