Yemen launches al-Qaida offensive
Source: Agencies |
January 6, 2010, Wednesday
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YEMEN launched a major offensive against al-Qaida while the United States embassy in Sanaa reopened yesterday after security forces staged a raid just outside the city that dealt with an imminent security threat.
Yemen has sent thousands of troops to take part in a campaign against al-Qaida in three provinces. Authorities have already detained five suspected fighters from the group, a security source said.
"The campaign is continuing in the capital and in the provinces of Shabwa and Maarib," the source said on condition of anonymity. The manhunt was also continuing in Abyan.
The American embassy in Yemen reopened after a raid that killed two al-Qaida militants dealt with specific security concerns which had forced US and European missions to close, the embassy said.
Violence flared in the Yemen-Saudi border area, where Shiite rebels waging a revolt against the central government said a series of Saudi air strikes on a market had flattened shops and homes, killing two people and wounding three more.
Yemen, the poorest Arab country, was thrust into the foreground of the US-led war against Islamist militants after a Yemen-based wing of al-Qaida said it was behind a Christmas Day bomb attempt on a US-bound plane.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said fighting in Yemen was a threat to regional and global stability.
"Successful counter-terrorism operations conducted by Government of Yemen security forces January 4 north of the capital have addressed a specific area of concern, and have contributed to the embassy's decision to resume operations," the US embassy said in a statement.
It said the embassy, a fortified structure with big concrete slabs to guard against attacks, reopened after a two-day closure prompted by credible information pointing to the "likelihood of imminent terrorist attacks in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa."
Placed strategically on the Arabian Peninsula's southern rim, Yemen is trying to fight a threat from resurgent al-Qaida fighters while a Shiite revolt rages in the north and separatist sentiment simmers in the south.
The British and French embassies also resumed operations yesterday but remained closed to the public.
Yemen has sent thousands of troops to take part in a campaign against al-Qaida in three provinces. Authorities have already detained five suspected fighters from the group, a security source said.
"The campaign is continuing in the capital and in the provinces of Shabwa and Maarib," the source said on condition of anonymity. The manhunt was also continuing in Abyan.
The American embassy in Yemen reopened after a raid that killed two al-Qaida militants dealt with specific security concerns which had forced US and European missions to close, the embassy said.
Violence flared in the Yemen-Saudi border area, where Shiite rebels waging a revolt against the central government said a series of Saudi air strikes on a market had flattened shops and homes, killing two people and wounding three more.
Yemen, the poorest Arab country, was thrust into the foreground of the US-led war against Islamist militants after a Yemen-based wing of al-Qaida said it was behind a Christmas Day bomb attempt on a US-bound plane.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said fighting in Yemen was a threat to regional and global stability.
"Successful counter-terrorism operations conducted by Government of Yemen security forces January 4 north of the capital have addressed a specific area of concern, and have contributed to the embassy's decision to resume operations," the US embassy said in a statement.
It said the embassy, a fortified structure with big concrete slabs to guard against attacks, reopened after a two-day closure prompted by credible information pointing to the "likelihood of imminent terrorist attacks in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa."
Placed strategically on the Arabian Peninsula's southern rim, Yemen is trying to fight a threat from resurgent al-Qaida fighters while a Shiite revolt rages in the north and separatist sentiment simmers in the south.
The British and French embassies also resumed operations yesterday but remained closed to the public.
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