Security Developments in Yemen

Source: Reuters, 25/01/2011

Yemen is trying to quell a resurgent wing of al Qaeda which has stepped up attacks in the poor Arabian Peninsula state neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia.
The cash-strapped government is also trying to cement a truce with Shi'ite rebels to end a civil war in the north while working to subdue a separatist rebellion in the south.
Following are security developments in Yemen in the past month (* denotes new or updated item):

* LAWDAR, Jan 25 - Yemen's security forces arrest five men after they try to attack a police patrol car in Lawdar, a city in the flashpoint Abyan province, the interior ministry says, describing them as possible "terrorist elements." The defence ministry website says one of the men, Amin al-Mukasar, is a leader of al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing.

* MA'ARIB, Jan 25 - The deputy head of forensics in the central province of Ma'arib dies from gunshot wounds on Tuesday, a day after being attacked by militants shooting automatic rifles from a vehicle, the interior ministry says. A soldier who chased the gunmen was wounded, and the attackers escaped.

* ADEN, Jan 23 - Police shoot dead a protester in southern Aden, a regular site of separatist unrest that has been rocked by anti-government protests in the past week, residents say.
* LAWDAR, Jan 23 - A suspected al Qaeda gunman shoots dead a soldier in Lawdar, a district in the southern province of Abyan, a local security official says.

ADEN, Jan 11 - Gunmen attack a vehicle carrying a military commander and injure him in the southern province of Lahj.

SANAA, Jan 11 - The United States and Yemen face a common threat from al Qaeda but have a partnership that goes beyond security issues, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says during a visit to the Yemeni capital.

ADEN, Jan 10 - One soldier is killed and two others are wounded in a shootout with suspected separatist militants in southern Lahj province.

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)