A coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia has commented on an Associated Press investigation about alleged secret deals with militants from the al-Qaeda* terrorist organization, the Arab News reported.
"We followed the published AP material entitled 'AP Investigation: US allies, al-Qaida battle rebels in Yemen'." Things claimed in this article — stories or conclusions — are groundless and express the author's personal opinion, since [the article] does not contain any solid evidence or convincing arguments," coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said.
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The statement followed the AP report, claiming that the Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, has been paying al-Qaeda fighters for two years to ensure they "leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash." The media alleged that this funding might risk strengthening, as the report noted, "the most dangerous branch of the terror network", the one that conducted the 9/11 attacks. As the media specified, the key participants had confirmed that Washington was aware of the deals and held off on their drone strikes.
*al-Qaeda — a terrorist organization, banned in numerous countries, including Russia