Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen released a video claiming a U.S. hostage will be executed in three days if the American government fails to meet the terrorist organization's demands, according to an intelligence group that monitors the extremists.
The three-minute video, reportedly released Thursday, shows al-Qaeda's Yemen commander Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi blasting the U.S. in Arabic for alleged "crimes against" the Muslim world, including U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamic State, the SITE Intelligence Group said according to the Associated Press. The commander did not say exactly what the demands are.
After al-Ansi speaks, a man identified as British-born American Luke Somers appears and makes a statement in English pleading for his life.
"It's now been well over a year since I've been kidnapped in Sanaa," Somers said, referring to his 2013 kidnapping in the country's capital. "Basically, I'm looking for any help that can get me out of this situation. I'm certain that my life is in danger. So as I sit here now, I ask, if anything can be done, please let it be done.
"Thank you very much," the 33-year-old photojournalist said.
Somers was working as a freelancer for the Yemen Times when he was kidnapped off the street, the AP reported.
He is believed to be one of several hostages a joint mission between Yemen and U.S. forces tried to rescue in November. Eight captives were freed during the operation in a secluded area in the Hadramawt province where the group has a stronghold.
The mission failed to rescue five hostages, including an unidentified American journalist, who were relocated somewhere else before the raid, the AP reported.
Al-Qaeda does mention in the video a recent operation where some of its members were killed, however it is unclear if the group is referring to the November operation, SITE said, according to NBC News.
The group's Yemen branch is known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The video is reminiscent of others released by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria showing the beheadings of American and British hostages. Militants from both groups consider each other rivals and have battled each other in the past, according to the AP.
