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| Arabia |
| Qaeda suspect kills 2 guards in Yemen hospital |
| 2010-03-08 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] An al-Qaeda suspect killed two police guards on Sunday in an unsuccessful attempt to escape from custody while in hospital, a medic said. The suspected militant managed to get hold of the weapons of two of his guards and killed them. He then exchanged fire with the three remaining guards, the medic at the Republican Hospital said. "Smoke was seen coming out of his room," and he handed himself in, the medic added. A source close to the police, who requested not to be named, said the suspect is believed to have joint U.S.-Yemeni citizenship. The name of the suspect was not revealed. Yemeni authorities intensified their campaign against the country's al-Qaeda branch after it claimed a botched Christmas Day bid to blow up a U.S. passenger plane en route for Detroit. On Thursday, a security official said 11 men were arrested in the capital Sanaa on suspicion of plotting attacks for al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda militants have previously targeted Western embassies in the city. Security forces arrested three suspected members of al-Qaeda on Feb. 17 in Marib province, east of the capital and on Jan.16 the authorities announced the arrest of three other suspected al-Qaeda militants. Yemen became a major Western security concern after the Yemen-based regional arm of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December. Western allies and neighboring Saudi Arabia fear al-Qaeda is exploiting instability in Yemen on many fronts to recruit and train militants for attacks in the region and beyond. In addition to fighting al-Qaeda, Yemen is also trying to contain separatist tensions in the south and bring an end to a northern Shiite insurgency. Last month, facing international pressure to turn its sights to al-Qaeda, Sanaa declared a truce in the long-running northern conflict. |
| Posted by:Fred |