Al-Qaida’s Yemeni offshoot urges supporters to kidnap Saudi royalties, Christians

Yemeni al-Qaida urges kidnapping of Saudi royalty

CAIRO — A senior member of an al-Qaida offshoot in Yemen has called on supporters in a new audio message to kidnap Christians and members of the Saudi royal family.

The deputy chief of al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula, Said al-Shihri, says such hostages could be used as a bargaining chip to secure the release of the terror group’s supporters held in jails across the region.

In a rare nod to al-Qaida’s female supporters, al-Shihri singles out a Saudi woman preacher, Haila al-Kassir. He says al-Kassir is currently in Saudi custody.

Al-Shihri recently made a similar appeal for attacks against U.S. and Saudi interests in the Middle East.

The 17-minute audio tape was posted Thursday on websites frequently used by Islamist extremists.