President Saleh: we’re combating terrorism and won’t allow any external interference

Source: Yemen’s official news agency (Saba) 31/10/2010

SANA'A- President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday the police is surrounding a house in the capital Sana'a where the suspect involved in sending Friday's suspicious packages on U.S.-bound flights, which triggered a state of high alert at U.S. and UK airports, is hiding.

At a press conference in Sana'a, Saleh said a woman sent the packages through Yemen onboard cargo planes including one that made a stopover in London.

I called British Prime Minister David Cameron and we agreed to form a joint panel to investigate the incident, he told reporters.

Yemen will continue the war on terrorism with available national potentials, he said, reiterating Yemen's refusal to any external intervention in the terror operations on the Yemeni soil.

"As soon as the suspected woman is held, she will be being investigated by security services", said Saleh, adding the National Security Service will provide information about the latest developments to media.

Announcing Yemen had any information about the two packages, the President said that John Brennan, assistant to the U.S. President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, told him two suspected parcels had been seized as they were on way to the United States.

Saleh said that Yemeni security authorities received a letter from Washington includes a telephone No. to a woman and that she allegedly who had sent the two parcels to two mail services companies.

He pointed out that the letter indicates that the U.S. still suspects that the two parcels may be explosive materials.

We have not received any official confirmation that the two parcels contain explosive materials, Saleh confirmed.

He went on to say that he agreed with the British Prime Minister to send a British security team to discuss ways of enhancing security cooperation aspects between Yemeni and British security forces, adding there is security cooperation between Yemen and the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia.

President Saleh uncovered more than 70 members of the Yemeni army and security forces were killed in terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda during the past four weeks.