Yemen: al-Qaeda fails an attempt to assassinate intelligence official

Yemeni official sources said that members of the al-Qaeda organization had planned to assassinate a high ranking official at the Yemeni intelligence and that these members failed twice in this assassination.

These sources quoted a security official saying that members of the so-called Afghan Arabs of al-Qaeda organization are behind this incident which on Thursday evening took place near a building for the Yemeni political security.

The sources added that a second attempt to assassinate the security official was unveiled accidentally after a five year old female child saw a plastic back containing a 59 Kg explosive place near the gate of the house of the security official, situated near the US embassy in Sanaa several days ago.

The child said that her attention was taken by the clock put on the explosive before she had notified her family who hurried to call on sides concerned and then the explosive was defused. The sources indicated that Lt. Gen. Muhammad al-Arami, the secretary of the Yemeni intelligence was the target in the two operations and this is because he is the second figure in the intelligence system which supervises the file of the Afghani Arabs.

To this effect, the Yemeni weekly al-Wahda said that Lt. Gen. Al-Arami used to know that his life is vulnerable as well as the life of his children for revenge acts after several suspected Afghani Arabs, wanted by the Yemeni authorities, were arrested.