Security developments in Yemen

Source: Reuters
09\01\2011

Yemen is trying to quell a resurgent wing of al Qaeda which has stepped up attacks on Western and regional targets in the poor Arabian Peninsula state, a neighbour of oil giant Saudi Arabia.

Yemen is trying to cement a truce with Shi'ite rebels to end a civil war in the north and to end a separatist rebellion in the south.

Following are security developments in Yemen in the past month (* denotes new or updated item):

* JAAR, Jan 9 - Masked gunmen on motorcycles attack an electricity office in south Yemen, killing three workers and wounding four, a local government official says। He blames al Qaeda for the assault.

ADEN, Jan 8 - Armed militants kill four Yemeni soldiers in an attack on a southern checkpoint.
ADEN, Jan 7 - Suspected al Qaeda militants ambush a military convoy in south Yemen, killing 12 soldiers and wounding three.

ADEN, Jan 1 - Authorities release southern opposition leader Hassan Baom on instructions from President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an official tells Reuters। Baom had been detained in November, months after being freed following a presidential amnesty.

WASHINGTON, Dec 31 - The United States urges Yemen to hold off on reported plans for a swift vote on proposed constitutional changes, calling for the government and opposition to negotiate the electoral reforms.

SANAA, Dec 30 - Yemen will release 400 Shi'ite rebels as part of a Qatar-mediated peace deal, a security official says.

SANAA, Dec 29 - Authorities release opposition leader Mohammed Ghaleb Ahmed for lack of evidence, three days after detaining him for questioning on suspicion of offering $50,000 to separatists to disrupt a regional soccer tournament, his lawyer says.

SANAA, Dec 26 - Authorities detain Mohammed Ghaleb Ahmed, a leader of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party, for questioning on suspicion of offering $50,000 to separatist militants to disrupt a regional soccer tournament.

SANAA, Dec 25 - Yemen says it will set up special forces in four of its restless provinces to fight al Qaeda, a day after Washington said a top U।S. counterterrorism official had pressed Sanaa to step up its efforts against the militant group.

HABILAYN, Dec 19 - Government troops seal off the southern town of al-Habilayn as they hunt those behind an attack that killed three soldiers and an officer, a local official says.

ADEN, Dec 19 - Armed militants seize a Yemeni soldier in a southern town to press for the release of three detained men, the head of an opposition group tells Reuters। SANAA, Dec 17 - Police say they prevented a man from bombing a U.S. embassy car in Sanaa, and were investigating whether the Jordanian suspect had ties to al Qaeda.

ZINJIBAR, Dec 17 - Two soldiers are killed and two wounded in clashes with suspected al Qaeda militants, a local security official says.

HABILAYN, Dec 16 - Three soldiers, an army officer, and a unidentified gunman are killed in gun battle in a market in the southern province of Lahj, a local security official says.
LAWDAR, Dec 15 - One solider is killed and three wounded in a gun battle with suspected al Qaeda militants in Abyan.

ZINJIBAR, Dec 13 - Head of political security in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan is slightly wounded in a roadside bombing targeting his car, according to a local official, who says al Qaeda is suspected.

ADEN, Dec 13 - Five soldiers and one army officer kidnapped in a secessionist hotspot in south Yemen are released.

SANAA, Dec 11 - About 10 people are killed in fighting between northern Shi'ite rebels and pro-government tribesmen। A rebel spokesman declines to confirm the toll.

ADEN, Dec 11 - A court sentences a man to death for a bombing which killed four people at a sports club in Aden in October, sparking days of demonstrations.

LAHJ, Dec 11 - Unidentified gunmen kidnap two soldiers in the southern province of Lahj, local officials say.

ADEN, Dec 11 - A court in the southern province of Hadramout sentences 12 people to up to seven years in jail for links to al Qaeda, state media report . (Reporting by Mohammed Mokhashaf in Aden, and Mohammed Ghobari and Mohamed Sudam in Sanaa; Compiled by Gulf bureau)