Sana'a, Yemen - Yemeni authorities said on Tuesday that a
leading member of al-Qaeda in Yemen was killed as police raided an
al-Qaeda hide-out in the south-eastern province of Hadhramout.
Official sources said that Hamza al-Quaiti, a suspected mastermind
of several terror attacks that hit Yemen in recent months, was among
five al-Qaeda suspects killed in a gun battle with police forces in
Tarim town of Hadhramout on Monday.
Two other suspects were injured and arrested by police in Monday's
shootout. Two police officers were killed in the clash.
The shootout erupted as police forces raided a house sheltering
the suspects in the town of Tarim, some 900 kilometres south-east of
the capital Sana'a.
A web site run by the defence ministry quoted unnamed official
sources as saying that police seized a cache of explosives, including
40 bags of gun powder, explosive devices, hand grenades, machineguns
and gas cylinders.
Al-Quaiti was among 10 al-Qaeda fugitives wanted by authorities
for his alleged role in plotting car bomb attacks, including the July
2007 bombing of a travel convoy that left eight Spanish tourists
dead.
He fled a high-security prison in Sana'a in February 2006 along
with 22 other al-Qaeda operative. Their escape dealt a major blow to
Yemen's efforts in the fight against al-Qaeda.
The officials said the group was behind the recent terror attacks,
including four car bomb attacks and the shooting attack against
Belgian tourists.
The most recent attack blamed on the group was the July 25 suicide
car bomb attack against the police complex in Sayoun city of
Hadhramout that killed and policeman and wounded 18 including seven
women.
An al-Qaeda wing in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack,
saying it was carried out in retaliation for the killing of five al-
Qaeda members by police forces in Yemen.
Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for three recent car bomb
attacks in Yemen, including the July 2007 attack on a tourist convoy
in the central province of Marib that killed eight Spanish tourists.
In September 2006, two al-Qaeda suicide attackers blew up an
explosives-laden pickup in the Safer oil refinery in the north-
central province of Marib. A simultaneous bombing hit an oil
exporting port in Hadhramout, killing a security guard and two
suicide attackers.
Hadhramout was the scene of a shooting attack on a convoy of
Belgian tourists that left two Belgian women and two Yemeni drivers
dead on January 18. Al-Qaeda also claimed responsibility for the
attack.
USA
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