Yemen arrests an al-Qaida organization leaders
Yemen, Local, 11/26/2003

The Yemeni security forces said that the security department arrested on Tuesday one of the main figures of al-Qaida organization in the country after years he had spent hiding for accusations of being the master mind of attacks against western interests in Yemen.

A statement by the Yemeni ministry of the interior, quoted by the official news agency, said that Muhammad al-Ahdal, better known as Abu Asem al-Makki, was detained after the security forces besieged his shelter to the west of the capital Sanaa.

Witnesses said that the Yemeni security forces fired bullets in the air ro force al-Ahdal, 32 year old, to surrender.

However, a source at the Yemeni ministry of the interior said that al-Ahdal's arrest came following a follow up operation that lasted for several months. Al-Ahdal is on top of the list of wanted in Yemen since two years. He is one of two suspected persons of leading al-Qaida organization in Yemen after Abu Ali al-Harithi who was killed by an American spying plane in Mareb to the east of Sanaa in 2002.

Al-Ahdal is also described as the coordinator of al-Qaida organization in the country. He is listed on the American list of what are described as wanted terrorists.

He is also considered the first wanted at the Yemeni and American level after September 11 attacks against the USA. He is accused by the Yemeni authorities of involvement in blowing up the American warship USS Cole in 2000 and the attack on the French oil tanker Limburg in 2002.

Previous Stories:
  One Saudi detainee committed suicide because Yemen refused him asylum   (11/24/2003)
  Tough security measures in Yemen after handing over al-Mu'ayyad   (11/19/2003)
  Five persons killed in tribal confrontations in Yemen   (10/30/2003)

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