SANAA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni anti-terror forces
have arrested seven suspected members of an al-Qaida-linked sleeper cell in a
quarter, adjacent to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, a higher-ranking security
official of Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
The anti-terrorism forces on late Tuesday raided al-Houri house
at Sawan quarter, and captured three members of the family Esam, Majid and Kamal
al-Houri, the official said on condition of anonymity. One of al-Houri members
was reportedly killed in Iraq three years ago, as he was fighting alongside
al-Qaida.
The house and the U.S. embassy are all located in
Sawan district in Sanaa.
A tip from an observant security officer in the area
also led to the arrest of another four suspected members from the same quarter,
said the official.
Yemen has recently launched a large-scale
anti-terrorism campaign against al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen following the failed
attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound flight which al-Qaida claimed responsibility.
The Interior Ministry announced last week that its
anti-terror units captured three al-Qaida's suspected members in a security
operation carried out in the Arhab district, some 40 km north to the
capital.
Yemen arrests 3 al-Qaida suspects as
more Western embassies reopen
SANAA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces captured
three al-Qaida suspects on Wednesday as British and French embassies reopen in
the capital after few days of closure over security concerns.
The three militants were wounded on Monday in clashes with
Yemeni security forces during a raid to arrest Mohammad al-Hanaq, an al-Qaida
leader, in Arhab district, northern Sanaa, state-run Saba news agency reported.
Full story
UN chief welcomes counter-terrorism
meeting on Yemen
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon welcomed Britain's call for a high-level international meeting in
late January on the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, United Nations
spokesperson Martin Nesirky said here Monday.
Nesirky told a press briefing here that during a phone
call to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday morning, Ban indicated his
support for the counter-terrorism conference to take place in London on Jan. 28.
Full story
U.S., Britain join counter-terrorism
effort in Yemen
BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Christmas Day bombing
attempt on an international flight to the U.S. has triggered a new wave of
security worries in America and Britain.
The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, admitted that he
had received the explosive device and training from an al-Qaeda unit in Yemen
that has claimed responsibility for the plot. Full story
Yemen likely to be new front in global
fight against terror
SANAA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- It seems Yemen has become a new
front in the fight against extremism as the U.S. and British embassies in the
country closed on Sunday in response to threats of possible attacks by al-Qaida
affiliates.
The British embassy asked its staff to stay at home on
Sunday, well-placed sources told local News Yemen, citing security reasons
behind the closure. The sources did not say when the mission would be reopened.
Full story
