SANA’A: A Saudi diplomat kidnapped in Yemen by Al Qaeda and held since 2012 has appealed for Riyadh to negotiate his release, in a video posted on YouTube.
Abdullah Al Khalidi, deputy consul in the southern port city of Aden who was kidnapped on March 28, 2012, appears in the nearly two-minute video with his head covered and sporting a long beard.
In the video posted online Tuesday and released by Al Qaeda’s Al Malahem Media, Khalidi said he has so far spent two years and five months in captivity.
Militants from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said they seized Khalidi in a bid to secure the release of female prisoners in Saudi Arabia and to raise a ransom. AQAP claimed responsibility for Khalidi’s abduction in April.
Although weakened, Al Qaeda is still present in Yemen’s restive south and east, and it launches sporadic attacks against security forces.
AFP
