| Security forces on Tuesday arrested one of the top al-Qaida members in Yemen, a suspected mastermind of the deadly bombings of the USS Cole and a French oil tanker off the country’s coast, the Interior Ministry said. Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal was arrested after security forces surrounded his hide-out west of the capital, San`a, the ministry said in a statement carried on the official SABA news agency. Al-Ahdal, also known as Abu Assem al-Makky, is one of the two main leaders of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network in Yemen, according to security reports published in the Yemeni press. Yemeni secutiry officials believe the Saudi-born al-Ahdal, 32, was one of the masterminds of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors and the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker. The statement said al-Ahdal, 32, who is also on the U.S. list of wanted terrorists in Yemen, was found after several months of extensive efforts by security forces. Witnesses said security forces fired in the air to force al-Ahdal to surrender. The official statement did not mention any shooting. |