The passengers were on a trip to an Easter weekend church gathering
Just over a week ago, AQAP claimed a plot to mail two parcel bombs to the United States that caused a global security alert. The explosives were intercepted in Dubai and Britain before they could be detonated following a tip-off from Saudi Arabia.
“We are against any crimes against pilgrims ... Haj is a pillar of Islam and we are most eager (not to spill) the blood of Muslims, wherever they may be,” AQAP said in a statement posted on a website often used by militants.
The statement followed remarks last week by the Saudi interior minister in which he suggested Al Qaeda may attack the around two million Muslims who are due to start their pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Asked whether Al Qaeda might stage an attack on the Haj or use the event to try and get fighters from Yemen, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz said: “We cannot rule out any operation but we are ready to foil it.”
Saudi Arabia is worried about infiltration across the 1,500 km -long border it shares with Yemen and which is known for smuggling.
In August 2009, an AQAP suicide bomber tried to kill Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who heads Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism campaign and is a member of the Saudi royal family.
In its statement, the group also condemned the US-Saudi intelligence cooperation that led to the discovery of the parcel bomb plot.
The passengers were on a trip to an Easter weekend church gathering
Pavel Durov said measures were taken immediately to stop 'a flurry of unknown users posting messages appearing to call for violence'
Motorists have been advised to drive carefully and abide by traffic rules and regulations
Right education methodologies at the grass root level, exposes students to technologies that will impact them in their growing years
Innovation, digital transformation will pave the way for more large-scale crypto deals in future
Financial sector will continue to play a pivotal role in accelerating the UAE’s gross domestic product by attracting foreign investment and offering promising business opportunities to investors
The market, which is expected to post over Dh100 billion in sales through more than 30,000 transactions in first quarter, will sustain steady increase in transactions and prices throughout the year
She was shopping in Hong Kong, where she was on vacation with her family, when someone spotted her and asked if she'd like to become a model.