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Yemen - Qaeda leader capture
Al-Qaeda leader captured, say police
Article published on the 2010-01-06 Latest update 2010-01-06 16:16 TU
A Yemeni police officer at a checkpoint in Sanaa
(Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)
Yemeni security forces said Wednesday that they have arrested an Al-Qaeda leader who is believed to be behind the threats against Western interests in Yemen. The threats forced embassies in Sanaa to close for a few days this week.
Mohammed al-Hanq was apprehended in a hospital with two people injured during a raid Monday by police in Arhab, north of the capital.
Two of al-Hanq’s relatives were killed in Monday’s raid, and three were wounded.
Mohammed al-Hanq was arrested Wednesday at a hospital in the province of Amran, with two people who were wounded, according to a security official.
The raid was part of a crackdown on extremists, as Yemen is under pressure from the US to control Al-Qaeda’s growing influence in the country, particularly after the Nigerian man who tried to blow up a US-bound airliner was allegedly trained in Yemen.
Earlier, the US embassy cited the raid as a successful security operation that allowed it to reopen Tuesday.
Yemen’s Interior Ministry said it arrested five "terrorist elements" over the past two days near Sanaa, but gave no details.
The Ministry has assured all foreign missions and interests that they are safe, and that security measures have been reinforced around embassies and foreign residences.
 Key figures in al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch |
