9 Al Qaeda members arrested

By Nasser Arrabyee/08/01/2010

A total of 9 Al Qaeda members were arrested over the last two days as the Yemeni security forces tightened the hunt down on Al Qaeda hideouts in the country, security sources said Friday.

Eight of them were arrested in Arhab, northeast of the capital Sana'a, where a leader is still being surrounded, the sources said.

Tribal sources said that tribal chiefs are still trying Mohammed Al Hanek, the alleged leader of Al Qaeda in Arhab, to surrender himself.

Al Hanek is the leader of the group who was likely behind the terror threat against the US and UK embassy last week.

The 9th Al Qaeda member was arrested in Majzar district in Mareb, according to a statement by the Ministry of Interior that said the man is 25 years old and he is originally from Hudhrmout, far east of the country.

The Ministry said the hunt down is going on and will continue in all places, like Mareb, Shabwah, Al Jawf, Abyan, until Al Qaeda militants are permanently eradicated.

On his part, the political analyst Ahmed Al Sufi, said Al Qaeda will be mistaken if they think Yemen will be instead of Afghanistan and Pakistan where from they escaped.

"Al Qaeda is exploiting the poverty and economic hardships of the people in the remote areas in hope to achieve their ambitions to establish an Islamic Emirate in Yemen," said Al Sufi who runs the Yemeni Institute for Democracy Development, a local
NGO.

"Al Qaeda should realize that the Yemeni people can bear the poverty and economic hardships, but will never bear extremism and killing of Al Qaeda."