"This just a ploy by Al-Qaeda to win over the support of the Sunni Muslims," said retired Gen. Anwar Hamid Ishki, director of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies, in an emailed response. He described the announcement to be an indication of "weakness and despair" and asked people not to heed such utterances by Al-Qaeda. "Al-Qaeda and the Houthis, though having different in religious beliefs, ... are close allies and in total agreement regarding terrorism," he said. Ishki said the two organizations are aimed at destabilizing the region and luring youths and fanatics to their training camps in order to prepare them for terrorist acts. He warned the media not to publish such misleading reports and to enlighten the readers that Al-Qaeda makes such claims in order to gain support and collect donations to finance its operations. "Al-Qaeda and the Houthis were strong allies, but the strength of the Saudi military machine, which has greatly curbed the danger of the Houthis, has led Al-Qaeda to sacrifice its ally to gain the support of the people," he said. According to recent press reports, AQAP has been training youths and sending them to the Kingdom with drug traders and arms smugglers to carry out operations before returning to Yemen. Saudi Border Guard recently caught six cars driven by Saudi citizens that were loaded with infiltrators who were trying to enter the Kingdom illegally through Najran.