Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), group's Yemeni affiliate, has threatened to execute Americans in retaliation if the United States goes ahead with the December 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hassan, a former U.S. Army major who killed 13 people and wounded 302 others at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), group's Yemeni affiliate, has threatened to execute Americans in retaliation if the United States goes ahead with the December 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hassan, a former U.S. Army major who killed 13 people and wounded 302 others at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3.

Al-Qaeda warned:

"The day America makes this decision, it will make a decision to execute any of you who fall into our captivity."

The threat followed a separate October 7 Telegram message from an al-Qaeda supporter living in Yemen, suggesting that Hassan's execution could lead to "the hijacking of American planes and the killing of American soldiers."

Hassan, a former US Army psychiatrist, carried out the Fort Hood massacre on November 5, 2009, opening fire on soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan while shouting "Allahu Akbar".