Judge Ahmed al-Maalami who oversaw the terror trial was openly threatened by one of the accused, Bilal al-Hababi as he handed out his verdict, six years in prison. "You apostate, you dog. We will eliminate you," cried out Bilal, while his fellow Islamists waved the infamous black al-Qaeda flag.
"Ansar al-Sharia
...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends...
(offshoot of al-Qaeda in Yemen) will come to show you the rule of God," he added defiantly.
Dubbed the most dangerous branch of al-Qaeda in the region, Ansar al-Sharia is said to have exchanged men, expertise and military equipment with its sister terror cell in Somalia, al-Shabaab
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
.
With cells spread throughout Yemen, terror gun-hung tough guys have exponentially raised their profile since 2011, as they used Yemen's political chaos and security breakdown to their advantages, expanding not only their zone of influence but the group's ability to cause harm to state institutions.
While Yemen President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi teamed up with the United States of America to crackdown on the terror group, both drone strikes and military ground operations have only but dented al-Qaeda. Strong of a reported 2000 - 3000 men according to security experts, al-Qaeda's guerrilla tactics and hit and run liquidations strikes are proving difficult to rein down on, infuriating officials.