.Yemeni forces storm al-Qaida hide-out, arrest 1
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - Yemeni security forces stormed an al-Qaida hide-out Wednesday in a principle militant stronghold in the country's west, setting off clashes, officials said, as a security chief vowed to fight the group's powerful local branch until it was eliminated.
A government statement said at least one suspected al-Qaida member was arrested during the fighting in Hudaydah province. The province, along Yemen's Red Sea coast, was home to most of the assailants in a bombing and shooting attack outside the U.S. Embassy in 2008 that killed 10 Yemeni guards and four civilians.
"The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down al-Qaida terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated," said Deputy Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Saleh al-Zawari.
He was speaking to senior military officials at a meeting in Mareb, one of three provinces where al-Qaida militants are believed to have taken shelter.
The group's growing presence in Yemen, an impoverished and lawless country on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has drawn attention with the attempted attack on a U.S. airliner on Friday. U.S. investigators say the Nigerian suspect in the attack told them that he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula set up its Yemen base in January when operatives from Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged.
A security official who gave more details on Wednesday's raid said it resulted from a tip and targeted a home five miles (eight kilometers) north of the Bajil district. He said one suspected al-Qaida member was injured and several who fled were being pursued.
The owner of the home, a sympathizer of the group, was arrested, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Yemen will continue to coordinate its military efforts with the United States to track down al-Qaida in several areas of the country, said Tarek al-Shami, spokesman of the ruling National Congress Party.
The U.S. has increasingly provided intelligence, surveillance and training to Yemeni forces during the past year, and has provided some firepower, a senior U.S. defense official said recently, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive security issues. Some of that assistance may be through the expanded use of unmanned drones, and the U.S. is providing funding to Yemen for helicopters and other equipment.
The Pentagon recently said it poured nearly $70 million in military aid into Yemen this year - compared with none in 2008.
More details surfaced Wednesday on the Nigerian man suspected in Friday's attempted airliner attack. While in Yemen, he led a devout Islamic life, shunning TV and music and avoiding women, said students and staff at an institute where he studied Arabic.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab spent two periods in Yemen, from 2004-2005 and from August to December of this year, just before the attempted attack, Yemeni officials have said. Administrators at the institute said Wednesday he was enrolled at the school during both periods to study Arabic.
Abdulmutallab showed little interest in study during his brief time at the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language this year, which coincided with Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting that began in late August.
"When I asked him why he wasn't studying, he would tell me he wanted to devote his time for worship during Ramadan," Ahmed Hassan, a 28-year-old Arabic language student from Singapore, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Hassan said he was stunned when he heard reports that Abdulmutallab, 23, told U.S. officials after his arrest he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. He said he never suspected the Nigerian of belonging to the terrorist network.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on the airliner, which was bound for Detroit from Amsterdam. It said it was retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. More than 60 militants were killed in airstrikes this month carried out by Yemeni forces with U.S. intelligence assistance.
Yemen issued Abdulmutallab a visa to study Arabic. Yemeni officials have said authorities in Yemen were reassured that he had visas from a number of countries engaged in the fight against terrorism, including the United States.
Staff and students at the institute said Abdulmutallab spent at most one month at the school. That has raised questions about what he did during the rest of his stay, which continued into December.
While in Yemen, Abdulmutallab led the life of an ultraconservative Muslim. He avoided mixing with female classmates, listening to music or watching television, fellow students and staff at the institute said.
Hassan said Abdulmutallab would start his day by going to the mosque for dawn prayers and then would spend hours in his room reading the Quran, Islam's holy book.
Ahmed Mohammed, one of the teachers at the institute, said Abdulmutallab spent the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan sequestered in a mosque.
He says Abdulmutallab attended barely four hours of the 20-hour course Ahmed taught.
Youssef al-Khawlani, an administrator at the institute, recalled how upset Abdulmutallab was when he heard the ring tone of his phone, set to a popular song.
"When he heard it, he told me I should stop it because it was haram (forbidden by Islam)," said al-Khawlani. "He also would not watch TV."
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A government statement said at least one suspected al-Qaida member was arrested during the fighting in Hudaydah province. The province, along Yemen's Red Sea coast, was home to most of the assailants in a bombing and shooting attack outside the U.S. Embassy in 2008 that killed 10 Yemeni guards and four civilians.
"The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down al-Qaida terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated," said Deputy Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Saleh al-Zawari.
He was speaking to senior military officials at a meeting in Mareb, one of three provinces where al-Qaida militants are believed to have taken shelter.
The group's growing presence in Yemen, an impoverished and lawless country on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has drawn attention with the attempted attack on a U.S. airliner on Friday. U.S. investigators say the Nigerian suspect in the attack told them that he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula set up its Yemen base in January when operatives from Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged.
A security official who gave more details on Wednesday's raid said it resulted from a tip and targeted a home five miles (eight kilometers) north of the Bajil district. He said one suspected al-Qaida member was injured and several who fled were being pursued.
The owner of the home, a sympathizer of the group, was arrested, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Yemen will continue to coordinate its military efforts with the United States to track down al-Qaida in several areas of the country, said Tarek al-Shami, spokesman of the ruling National Congress Party.
The U.S. has increasingly provided intelligence, surveillance and training to Yemeni forces during the past year, and has provided some firepower, a senior U.S. defense official said recently, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive security issues. Some of that assistance may be through the expanded use of unmanned drones, and the U.S. is providing funding to Yemen for helicopters and other equipment.
The Pentagon recently said it poured nearly $70 million in military aid into Yemen this year - compared with none in 2008.
More details surfaced Wednesday on the Nigerian man suspected in Friday's attempted airliner attack. While in Yemen, he led a devout Islamic life, shunning TV and music and avoiding women, said students and staff at an institute where he studied Arabic.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab spent two periods in Yemen, from 2004-2005 and from August to December of this year, just before the attempted attack, Yemeni officials have said. Administrators at the institute said Wednesday he was enrolled at the school during both periods to study Arabic.
Abdulmutallab showed little interest in study during his brief time at the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language this year, which coincided with Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting that began in late August.
"When I asked him why he wasn't studying, he would tell me he wanted to devote his time for worship during Ramadan," Ahmed Hassan, a 28-year-old Arabic language student from Singapore, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Hassan said he was stunned when he heard reports that Abdulmutallab, 23, told U.S. officials after his arrest he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. He said he never suspected the Nigerian of belonging to the terrorist network.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on the airliner, which was bound for Detroit from Amsterdam. It said it was retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. More than 60 militants were killed in airstrikes this month carried out by Yemeni forces with U.S. intelligence assistance.
Yemen issued Abdulmutallab a visa to study Arabic. Yemeni officials have said authorities in Yemen were reassured that he had visas from a number of countries engaged in the fight against terrorism, including the United States.
Staff and students at the institute said Abdulmutallab spent at most one month at the school. That has raised questions about what he did during the rest of his stay, which continued into December.
While in Yemen, Abdulmutallab led the life of an ultraconservative Muslim. He avoided mixing with female classmates, listening to music or watching television, fellow students and staff at the institute said.
Hassan said Abdulmutallab would start his day by going to the mosque for dawn prayers and then would spend hours in his room reading the Quran, Islam's holy book.
Ahmed Mohammed, one of the teachers at the institute, said Abdulmutallab spent the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan sequestered in a mosque.
He says Abdulmutallab attended barely four hours of the 20-hour course Ahmed taught.
Youssef al-Khawlani, an administrator at the institute, recalled how upset Abdulmutallab was when he heard the ring tone of his phone, set to a popular song.
"When he heard it, he told me I should stop it because it was haram (forbidden by Islam)," said al-Khawlani. "He also would not watch TV."
MyWay
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