Yemeni forces storm Al-Qaeda hide-out

13:58, 31 December 2009

SANAA. December 31. KAZINFORM Yemeni security forces stormed an Al-Qaeda hide-out Wednesday in a 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, Kazinform refers to Arab News.

A government statement said at least one suspected Al-Qaeda 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 US Embassy in 2008 that killed 10 Yemeni guards and four civilians.

"The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down Al-Qaeda terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated," said Deputy Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Saleh Al-Zawari.

The group's growing presence in Yemen has drawn attention with the attempted attack on a US airliner on Friday. US investigators say the Nigerian suspect in the attack told them that he received training and instructions from Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen.

A security official who gave more details on Wednesday's raid said it resulted from a tip-off and targeted a home eight kilometers north of the Bajil district. He said one suspected Al-Qaeda member was injured and several who fled were being pursued.

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, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.

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