Yemeni President underestimates the importance of 'sympathizers with al-Qaida' group

In statements issued on Sunday, the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said that security cooperation between Washington and Sanaa in the field of fighting terrorism will be limited to few weeks, noting that the existence of 30 American experts to train the Yemeni security forces "does not mean an American military presence in our country." He, on the other hand, underestimated the importance of an unidentified group calling themselves "the sympathizers with al-Qaida organization."

Saleh told the Qatari daily al-Watan in its Sunday's issue "there is no effective presence for such people," adding that "the existence of elements called al-Qaida organization is very limited in the country," noting that "doubtless those who are linked to the group existed in Afghanistan, but persons such as those are under the telescope in Yemen and we are chasing them." The "Sympathizers group with al-Qaida organization" announced on Saturday responsibility for blowing off an explosive near the house of the Yemeni prime minister Abdul Qader Bajmal on Thursday.

In a statement sent by Email to the mass media, the group explained that the house of Lt. Gen. Ali Mansour Rasheed, deputy chairman of the central department for political security ( the intelligence) which is situated near Bajmal house was the target of the attack because Rasheed "is the man in charge of torturing the Mujahideen inside the prison in the central department of the political security."