SANAA, Yemen, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is stoking sectarian tensions in Yemen by targeting members of the Shiite Houthi rebel group in the north, an elder says.
AQAP, the target of Western worries in the wake of repeated plots against the United States, said in late November the Shiite rebel group was a "legitimate" target.
The statement marks the first time AQAP has issued a warning against Yemeni rebels, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
Two suicide bombers struck parts of northern Yemen, killing supporters of the Shiite rebel group this week. Abdulhamid Amer, a tribal leader from northern Jawf province, told the U.N. humanitarian news agency IRIN most of the dead in the attacks were Shiite rebels.
Houthi rebels have reportedly set up their own series of check points in the northern provinces, arresting anyone suspected of having ties to AQAP, the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.
Houthis have been engaged in sporadic conflict with government forces since 2004.
