On the terrorist acts in Yemen

The official for "Ansaar al-Sharia" (Sharia partisans) Mustafa Kamel, better known as Abu Hamzeh al-Masri, on Tuesday denied having sent a group of British Islamists to carry out terrorist operations in Yemen.

He told the London based al-Hayat daily that his son Muhammad is the one the Yemeni police are searching for, being suspected of having been involved with the five arrested British "under the pretexts" of making explosions in Aden during Christmas and the new year.

However, the British daily Times said on Tuesday that Mohsein Gheilan, one of the five British men held in the Yemeni prison, admitted to the Yemeni authorities that he had received (US $2,000) to detonate a bomb in the British consulate in Aden and in the Anglican church and one of the city's luxury hotels. The paper added that Muhsein Gheilan also admitted that he met with "Abu al-Muhsin al-Mihdar," leader of the "Aden Islamic Army " group which kidnapped the Western tourists in Abeen last month, twice hours before he and his friends were arrested in Aden.

The British daily added that Gheilan also admitted during the investigations that he is a "mercenary" and he came to Yemen for a sum of money.

Al-Hayat daily spoke on the telephone with Abu Hamzeh and asked him about information on chasing his son. He replied he does not know if the passport confiscated in Aden is for his son or if it is a forgery.

He added that he saw his son for the last time one and a half months ago. " He told me he will go for al-Omra rituals in Saudi Arabia and did not have contacts since then."

On Yemen's accusations addressed to him that he exports religious terrorism, Abu Hamzeh said "If they mean that I had assigned somebody to explode a site or kidnap a tourist and kill a person.. this did not happen."