Frenchmen detained in Yemen for possible Al-Qaeda links

Yemen has detained two Frenchmen who they suspect of having ties to Al-Qaeda; the regional branch of this terrorist organisation has strong links to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.

Still from video posted to social media on 14 January 2015 of Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, leader of the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, claiming responsibility for Charlie Hebdo attack.

On Saturday, a top Yemeni official announced that they were holding two French nationals for questioning.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the organisation's regional branch, has claimed responsibility for the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that left 12 dead.

Perpetrators of the attack Said and Cherif Kouachi trained with Al-Qaeda in Yemen in 2011.

The chief of the national security service, General Mohammed al-Ahmadi, said during the announcement that there are around 1,000 Al-Qaeda militants in the country, coming from both Arab and non-Arab countries.

AQAP formed after Yemeni militants merged with Saudi Arabian groups.

Washington views this arm of Al-Qaeda as the most dangerous branch and has been carrying out a drone war against its leaders.

The extremist group has called on its supporters to make attacks in France, a member of the international coalition striking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, the head of the Yemen-based group, claims in a video posted online that the global leader of Al-Qaeda and successor to Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, ordered the Charlie Hebdo attacks himself.