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(VOA) Yemen's al-Qaida wing is declaring plans to establish an Islamic emirate in the remote eastern Hadramout province.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) announcement also orders men and women in the east to obey its strict interpretation of Islamic law. The terrorist group issued leaflets with the orders and its intent to create an Islamic state.
The announcement comes weeks after the al-Qaida offshoot called the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) declared its own caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq.
AQAP is one of the most active branches of the global militant network. Its militants have shifted operations to Hadramout after the army, backed by U.S. drones, helped drive the group out of southern strongholds earlier this year.
In addition to AQAP, Yemen's government also is battling southern separatists and northern rebels amid political turmoil that surged after 2011.
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