By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
SANA’A, Yemen – Yemeni officials announced on June 14 that they had arrested the leading financier of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemeni Security forces arrested Saudi-national Hassan Hussein Bin Alwan in the Marib Province, which is located approximated 190 km north of the Yemeni capital Sana’a. However, very few details about the arrest itself have been released.
According to a Yemeni Interior Ministry official, Bin Alwan is the biggest and most important financier of al Qaeda’s operations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Defense Ministry has described him as “one of the most dangerous al Qaeda terrorists.”
Yemen has intensified its search efforts for al Qaeda members within its region since the terrorist organization announced in January 2009 that it would be merging al Qaeda groups in Saudi Arabia and Yemen to form ‘Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.’ However, political unrest in the region has made it easier for al Qaida to operate unnoticed within the country.
Militant activity has increased in the past few months, and much of it has been the fault of groups other than al Qaeda. For instance, on June 13, a group of nine travelling in Yemen was abducted by a Shi’ite militant group in Sadaa. The group included seven Germans, a Briton, and a South Korean woman; all three of these countries have been communicating with Yemen in attempts to free these hostages and return them to their countries. This kidnapping followed just one day after a gunman in Amran province abducted twenty-four medical workers. The group was later released unharmed. These acts of violence are signs of Yemen’s instability, a characteristic which attracts terrorists.
Although Yemeni security officials state that their fight against terrorism in the region has had many recent successes, an article published in the New York Times on June 11 claims that al Qaeda members who have been hiding out in Pakistan are relocating to Yemen and Somalia where the social and political turmoil allows for easier operation. Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Leon Panetta explained in the article that the CIA is focusing on locations like Yemen because they may act like safe havens for terrorists. Yemeni security officials deny these claims, arguing that Yemen is not suitable to act as a safe haven.
For more information, please see:
AFP – Al-Qaida Financier Arrested in Yemen: Official – 14 June 2009
Associated Press – Yemen Arrests Suspected Al-Qaida Financier – 14 June 2009
News Yemen – Yemeni Security Arrests Lead Financer of al Qaeda – 14 June 2009
Reuters – Yemen Says Arrests Saudi Financer of al Qaeda – 14 June 2009
Thaindian News – Al Qaeda Financier Held in Yemen – 14 June 2009
UPI – Nine Kidnapped in Yemen – 14 June 2009
News Yemen – Yemen Denies al-Qaeda Infiltration from Pakistan – 13 June 2009
New York Times – Some in Qaeda Leave Pakistan for Somalia and Yemen – 11 June 2009
