Al-Qaida in Yemen denies AP report on secret deals with UAE

CAIRO – Yemen’s al-Qaida branch denied on Friday an Associated Press report saying it struck secret deals over territories it controls with the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in the country.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula — considered the terror group’s most dangerous branch after failed attacks on U.S. soil — said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel that the report “lacks evidence, reality, or credibility.”

It added that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have co-operated with the U.S. using “the dirtiest means,” which the group said it would uncover soon.

The statement comes after the AP outlined how Emirati forces have integrated al-Qaida members into the ranks of newly formed militias that currently control most of southern Yemen.

The Associated Press stands by its reporting, a spokesman said.