11 killed as armed militants raid security prison in Yemen
Source: Agencies |
June 20, 2010, Sunday
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UNDER a hail of gunfire and grenades, heavily armed militants believed to be al-Qaida stormed the intelligence services' jail in a southern Yemen port city yesterday, killing at least 11 people, security officials said.
An eyewitness outside the security building in Aden, about 320 kilometers south of the capital, San'a, said the gunmen made off with several freed prisoners.
The blatant prison break highlights the challenges Yemen's US-backed government faces in battling increasingly brazen al-Qaida elements that have found refuge in this impoverished country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
US officials fear Yemen is becoming a terror staging ground and say insurgents, including individuals from the US, are training in militant camps in Yemen's vast lawless spaces.
Yesterday's attack began when armed men fired on the entrance of the regional intelligence headquarters, then shot their way into its detention facility, where al-Qaida suspects are often held, the security officials said.
An eyewitness, who works at the building and was outside the premises at the time of the attack, said he saw four gunmen hit the entrance with rocket-propelled and hand grenades before rushing inside under a hail of gunfire. He said a firefight ensued, but the attackers managed to escape with several detainees.
Speaking by phone from Aden, the eyewitness said the attackers had driven up in a car and a minivan, which they parked by a neighboring hotel before attacking the intelligence headquarters.
Security officials said the dead included seven security officers and three women who worked in the building. They did not comment on whether any prisoners had been freed. Officials said at least 15 people were rushed to hospital.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials said it had the typical signs of al-Qaida.
Yemen has seen several al-Qaida prison breaks before.
In 2003, 10 men escaped from the same building in Aden, including one later convicted of involvement in the plot to blow up the USS Cole in 2000, killing 17 American sailors in what was one of al-Qaida's most dramatic pre-9/11 attacks.
And in 2006, 23 prominent al-Qaida prisoners escaped from a different facility, making their way out though a dugout tunnel that emerged in a mosque outside the prison.
An eyewitness outside the security building in Aden, about 320 kilometers south of the capital, San'a, said the gunmen made off with several freed prisoners.
The blatant prison break highlights the challenges Yemen's US-backed government faces in battling increasingly brazen al-Qaida elements that have found refuge in this impoverished country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
US officials fear Yemen is becoming a terror staging ground and say insurgents, including individuals from the US, are training in militant camps in Yemen's vast lawless spaces.
Yesterday's attack began when armed men fired on the entrance of the regional intelligence headquarters, then shot their way into its detention facility, where al-Qaida suspects are often held, the security officials said.
An eyewitness, who works at the building and was outside the premises at the time of the attack, said he saw four gunmen hit the entrance with rocket-propelled and hand grenades before rushing inside under a hail of gunfire. He said a firefight ensued, but the attackers managed to escape with several detainees.
Speaking by phone from Aden, the eyewitness said the attackers had driven up in a car and a minivan, which they parked by a neighboring hotel before attacking the intelligence headquarters.
Security officials said the dead included seven security officers and three women who worked in the building. They did not comment on whether any prisoners had been freed. Officials said at least 15 people were rushed to hospital.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials said it had the typical signs of al-Qaida.
Yemen has seen several al-Qaida prison breaks before.
In 2003, 10 men escaped from the same building in Aden, including one later convicted of involvement in the plot to blow up the USS Cole in 2000, killing 17 American sailors in what was one of al-Qaida's most dramatic pre-9/11 attacks.
And in 2006, 23 prominent al-Qaida prisoners escaped from a different facility, making their way out though a dugout tunnel that emerged in a mosque outside the prison.
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