In August 2008, Al-Shehri and other Saudis took the hard way out of Saudi Arabia, traveling through a rough terrain to neighboring Yemen, where a new "journey of jihad, sacrifice and generosity" began. Abu Sufyan was behind the great part of AQAP recruitment for the group's ranks: "collecting manpower, gathering fighters and directing the helm of the struggle."Top AQAP military commander Qassim al-Rimi (Abu Hurayrah al-Snaaani) appears to emphasize that Abu Sufyan pushed for a transnational force, across national borders.