US, Yemeni secret plan in search of al-Qaida members

The US, ABC TV network, said that the CIA and the American army have prepared for launching a large scale secret operation in Yemen in search of al- Qaida fighters who are presumed to have fled from Afghanistan to Yemen.

ABC said that US intelligence sources stressed that there is an American warship anchored off the Yemeni coasts, and will be used as a floating base for the special operations forces which is gathered at the meantime in nearby Djibouti. ABC added that more than 8 American troops and scores of specialized helicopters are now gathered in Djibouti including a contingent from the "Delta Force" specialized in kidnapping suspected persons from other countries' territories.

ABC explained quoting its own sources that the CIA runs the operation and that it has its own special small security forces, adding that the American presence in Djibouti is hidden in a huge French base there, noting that the fears of the American officials have been developed to that Yemen, where Osama Bin Laden had lived in the tribal areas, has become a safe resort to fleeing al-Qaida fighters.

On Sunday, The Washington Post said that the US intensified operations in search for members of al-Qaida network in Yemen, and quoted a high ranking official in the US administration saying that Yemen has become an area of increased interest for the American and allied forces and that should Osama Bin laden be alive, Yemen is one of the place where he is might be hidding, in addition to Pakistan.

The paper indicated that Yemen, since the September 11 attacks, took measures against supposed fighters of al-Qaida. However, the Yemeni foreign minister said in an interview issued recently that Sanaa will not hand over any of al-Qaida detainees to foreign countries.