By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
SA’NA, Yemen – Yemeni security forces have arrested eleven men suspected of links to Al-Qaeda in a house raid in the capital Sa’na.
In a statement, Yemen’s interior ministry said that the men were arrested while meeting in the family home of one of the suspects.
The father of one of the suspects was killed when he reportedly opened fire on police during the raid.
Yemeni authorities have threatened punishment for people who harbor suspected terrorists. The warnings are part of a crackdown on alleged al Qaeda hideouts since the attempted bombing of an American airliner in December, according to SABA.
The U.S. has become increasingly worried about militants based in Yemen since al-Qaida groups there and in Saudi Arabia merged last year to become al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group organized a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas day in Detroit with a bomber smuggling exposives in his underwear.
The suspect in the failed attack, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, spent time in Yemen and is said to have acquired the explosive device from someone in that country. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the plot.
The Obama administration has recognized the risks posed by Yemen becoming a failed state and voiced support in its struggles against terrorism.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has pressed Yemen to implement key reforms and shore up its faltering economy. “Yemen’s challenges are not going to be solved by military action alone,” she said at a recent meeting of Western powers and Arab nations. “Progress against violent extremists and progress toward a better future for the Yemeni people … will also depend on fortifying development efforts.”
For More Information, Please See:
BBC – Yemen Arrests Al-Qaeda Suspects – March 4 2010
Al-Bawaba – Yemen: Al-Qaeda Suspects Arrested – March 4 2010
AP – Yemen: Police Arrest Suspected Al-Qaeda Members – March 4 2010
CNN – Report: Yemen Arrests 11 Terrorism Suspects – March 4 2010
