Ansar Al-Sharia, a branch of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, declared the province of Shabwa southeast of the country an Islamic emirate. By this, Shabwa becomes the second emirate declared to be Islamic after one declared last May. Al-Qaeda issued a statement and pictures on the Internet refering to the strategic province, which houses the largest liquefied gas project in Yemen. The plant is operated by French company Total with an estimated cost of $1bn. Tribal resources also confirmed that Al-Qaeda has declared a third emirate in Hadramaut, the strategic province, in southeast Yemen, looking over the Arabian Sea