U.S. drone kills 2 al-Qaida suspects in central Yemen

SANAA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed two al- Qaida suspects in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Monday, a provincial police official said.

The raid took place on Monday dawn in Khubzat Kaifa in al- Kuraishia district of Radda city, when the suspects left a farm on a motorbike in the area, the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

The Yemeni defense ministry on its website identified the targets as Abd-Rabbu Jar Allah and Obad Mossad Obad.

Radda city, some 170 km southeast of the capital Sanaa, was the scene of deadly battles before the government troops recaptured the city following a deal with the al-Qaida earlier last year.

On Saturday, a U.S. drone strike killed at least five suspected al-Qaida militants in the southern province of Abyan.

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with the Yemeni government since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office last February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to capture several cities in southern Yemen.

from XINHUA
2013-05-20 19:53:10    

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Finnish, Austrian hostages released by al-Qaida in Yemen

Map of Yemen.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SANAA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A Finnish couple and an Austrian man kidnapped by al-Qaida militants in Yemen last December were released through an Omani mediation, a Yemeni government official told Xinhua Thursday.

"The Finnish couple and their Austrian friend who were snatched by al-Qaida group from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in December last year were released through mediation of the Omani government and the Yemeni tribe on Wednesday night," the senior official told Xinhua by phone, requesting anonymity.

"A big ransom of money, about millions of U.S. dollars, has been paid to the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in return of releasing the hostages," he said, adding that "the group was handed over on Wednesday night to the Omani officials."

"The Yemeni government did not participate in the mediation process," he added.

An editor at the Finnish Broadcasting Company in the Finnish capital of Helsinki told Xinhua that "the Finnish Foreign Ministry will hold a press conference in Helsinki on the release of the Finnish hostages in Yemen."

On Dec. 21, 2012, the three Europeans, who studied Arabic language in a school in the old city in Sanaa, were kidnapped from a busy street.

A specialist on al-Qaida issues said "successful negotiations" led to the release of the hostages.

"Negotiations had succeeded thanks to the Omani government ... and tribal mediators also hope that Saudi Arabia do the same thing and send honest negotiators, not agents and spies, to free a Saudi diplomat hostage who is still in the hands of al-Qaida militants since 2012," Abdelrazak al-Jamal told Xinhua by phone, citing a statement by the Yemeni tribal mediators.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, the most active terrorist network in the Arab country, has been holding Abdullah al-Khaledi, the Saudi deputy consul in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, for almost one year and a half.

Al-Khaledi has made several appeals to the Saudi king to help free him since he was snatched by the AQAP on March 28, 2012.

On Feb. 27, a Swiss woman kidnapped by the AQAP in Yemen for one year was released through a Qatari mediation.

from XINHUA
Editor: Mu Xuequan
2013-05-10 03:09:01

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US drones kill 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen

By Bill Roggio - April 17, 2013 - LWJ

The US launched a pair of drone strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula today in a remote area in central Yemen, according to reports. The strikes are the first recorded in the country since the end of January.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers attacked two separate targets in the Oussab al Ali area, which was described by The Associated Press as a mountainous region "located in the middle of three provinces of central Damar, southern Ibb and eastern Hodeida."
The first strike killed four AQAP fighters as they were driving a vehicle in the area, Yemeni intelligence officials told AP.
The second strike killed Hamed Radman, who was described as an "influential al Qaeda member" who "played a role in recruitment." A Yemeni witness in the area said that US drones were deployed over the village where Radman was killed for three days before striking.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/04/us_drones_kill_5_aqa.php#ixzz2QnpmsoKF

---

 from XINHUA:
2013-04-18 02:56:14

SANAA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed at least five al-Qaida militants in Yemen's central province of Dhamar on Wednesday night, an interior ministry official told Xinhua.

"Five al-Qaida operatives, including its leader in Dhamar province Hamid al-Radami, were confirmed killed by two missiles fired from the unmanned warplane tonight," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"The targeted militants were all in a car driving in Madhlab area in Wisab Alaly district near the house of al-Qaida's local leader al-Radami," the official said, adding that "they were all under surveillance since they left al-Radami's house few minutes before the airstrike."

"It was a joint military operation between Yemeni, U.S. and Saudi intelligence services," he said.

Al-Radami, also known as Abu Osama, had set up several hidden training camps for al-Qaida in Dhamar province, about 100 km south of Yemen's capital Sanaa.

The strike came after a pause of more than two months by the U. S. unmanned warplanes, which Yemeni security officials said take off from a U.S. military base in southern Saudi Arabia.

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Swiss woman kidnapped by al-Qaida freed in Yemen

SANAA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Swiss woman kidnapped by the al- Qaida wing in Yemen for one year was released on Wednesday, an official of the Yemeni Interior Ministry told Xinhua.

"Sylvia Abrahat, the Swiss teacher who worked in an English- language school in the western port city of al-Hodayda and was snatched by al-Qaida militants in March last year was freed Wednesday by a tribal mediation," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Abrahat was handed over to the government authorities in the southeastern province of Shabwa, where the negotiations took place, " the official said, declining to clarify what were the demands of the al-Qaida.

Meanwhile, a specialist on al-Qaida issues confirmed the " successful negotiations" that led to the release of the Swiss woman.

"I was informed tonight from sources close to the tribal mediators and al-Qaida militants that the negotiations over the release of the Swiss hostage has ended successfully earlier Wednesday," Abdelrazak al-Jamal told Xinhua by phone.

"No information about the details of the agreed deal has yet been available," he said.

Foreigners are frequently kidnapped in Yemen by al-Qaida militants or tribesmen who asked for ransoms or the release of their jailed fellows. Most of the kidnapped have been freed unharmed.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, the most active terrorist network in the Middle East, is also holding a Saudi diplomat captive for almost one year, as well as three Europeans, a Finnish couple and an Austrian, for nearly two months.

On Tuesday, Yemeni government officials said that tribal chiefs began mediation efforts to secure the release of three Europeans held hostage by the al-Qaida wing last December.

"The act came after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi received a phone call from European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, during which the president promised to run mediation efforts on all levels to free the hostages," an official of the Presidential Palace told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Officials said they demanded a ransom of millions of euros during talks over the past month to release the Europeans, while al-Qaida stipulated the release of jailed women in Saudi Arabia in return for the release of the Saudi diplomat.

The Finnish couple and their Austrian friend, who studied Arabic language in a school in the old city of the capital Sanaa, were snatched on Dec. 21, 2012 from a busy street in central Sanaa.

from XINHUA
2013-02-28 05:58:39
Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Explosion at military camp kills 10 civilians in northwestern Yemen

SANAA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A huge explosion occurred at a weapon depot in a military camp in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah on Thursday morning, killing 10 civilians and injuring several others, a security official told Xinhua.

A series of explosions occurred at a weapons depot in a military camp which is adjacent to a populated area, a security official told Xinhua.

"The depot belongs to the Mika brigade stationed in Hajjah province, 170 km northwest of the capital Sanaa. The weapons in the depot exploded and landed on nearby houses, killing at least 10 civilians and injuring several others," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The explosion has destroyed three houses near the camp and damaged more, he added.

A series of explosions still continue and huge fire was seen hanging over the region, the official said, adding that troops from a neighboring city are on the way to the explosion site.

The military authorities has not been reached to comment on the incident.

It is the second explosion in military camps in recent months. At least five soldiers were killed when a rocket was mistakenly fired into a weapon depot in the First Armored Division in Sanaa in October last year.

from XINHUA
2013-02-07 16:54:15

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U.S. drone strike kills 3 al-Qaida suspects in central Yemen

SANAA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed at least three suspected operatives of the al-Qaida wing in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Saturday night, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

"The U.S. unmanned aircraft targeted a group of suspected al- Qaida members onboard a four-wheel vehicle on a remote road between the villages of Khabra and Manasih, killing three of them and injuring the other one," the official told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

"The dead included Saleh al-Ameri who is believed to be a local leader of the terrorist group in the area," the official said.

Al-Bayda province, about 267 km southeast of the capital Sanaa, was the scene of deadly battles between the army and al-Qaida militants earlier last year.

The fresh airstrike was the fourth of its kind in less than a week against suspected members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, according to Yemeni security officials.

The previous three air raids targeted the militants in Shaher town of the southeastern province of Hadramout, leaving at least seven al-Qaida suspects dead and injuring several others.

The escalation in airstrikes came simultaneously with a newly released video tape earlier this week by al-Qaida militants, in which the terrorist group incited for more attacks against U.S. missions in Yemen.

"We, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in order to inspire for jihad and to encourage our Muslim Ummah, announce a reward of 3,000 grams of gold to whoever kills the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa," the militants said in the video message, which was posted on Jihadi websites last Sunday.

"And 5 million Yemeni Riyals to whoever kills any American soldier in Yemen," they said in the 43-minute video tape which was obtained by Xinhua.

The militants also carried out a series of deadly attacks and assassinations against Yemeni security and intelligence personnel in several provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with Sanaa government since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed the militants to capture several cities in Yemen's south.

from XINHUA
2012-12-30 02:29:22

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Al-Qaida suspects assassinate two senior army officials in Yemen's capital

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

SANAA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two senior army officials were assassinated Tuesday by suspected al-Qaida gunmen in Yemeni capital Sanaa, an interior ministry official said.

Colonel Salem Ghorbani of the Republican Guards was shot dead near al-Sawad Military barracks in southern Sanaa early Tuesday.

Another official of the Defense Ministry, Brigadier Fadhel al- Zahairy, was gunned down 30 minutes later in Bab al-Yemen district in central Sanaa.

An interior ministry official said the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida militants.

Both assassinations were carried out by masked gunmen on motorcycles, according to the official, who spoke to Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The incidents in Sanaa occurred simultaneously with a massive offensive launched by the Yemeni army against tribal saboteurs accused of attacking an oil export pipeline in the neighboring province of Marib.

A senior local tribal official in Marib told Xinhua earlier Tuesday that hundreds of al-Qaida militants were fighting alongside the tribal saboteurs.

The al-Qaida wing confirmed on its official media that its militants are engaging in the fierce battles against the army in Marib. The militants said in a statement obtained by Xinhua that they killed 14 soldiers last week in several ambushes and claimed responsibility for killing a senior military officer along with 11 others in Marib on Dec. 8.

More than 15 army and security personnel have been assassinated in Sanaa since the beginning of this year by motor-riding attackers, for which the government authorities blame the local al- Qaida wing.

In October, unidentified gunmen in Sanaa killed an Iraqi counterterrorism adviser to the Yemeni Defense Ministry and a security coordinator between the Yemeni government and the U.S. embassy in Sanaa. The Interior Ministry's investigation reports blamed both assassination acts on al-Qaida.

Yemen has undergone a political transition led by President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the stepping down of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier this year.

Restoring security has become Hadi's top priority after last year's unrest allowed the insurgent al-Qaida militants to control swaths of remote land and expand activities to major cities.

from XINHUA
2012-12-25 19:22:35
Editor: Lu Hui

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Yemen says search on for abducted Finns, Austrian

Yemeni soldiers man a checkpoint in Sanaa on Dec. 22, 2012 following the kidnapping of three foreigners. Gunmen suspected of links to Al-Qaeda kidnapped two Finns and one Austrian in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Dec. 21, security officials told AFP. (AFP)

Yemen said on Sunday its security forces were still searching for two Finns and an Austrian whose whereabouts remain unknown since they were kidnapped in Sanaa.

Security services are “carrying out vast search and investigation operations to locate the kidnapped” foreigners, abducted on Friday in Sanaa, official news agency Saba quoted Interior Minister Abdelqader Qahtan as saying as he received an envoy from Finland.

The minister assured the envoy that Yemeni forces will take all steps to ensure the safety of the hostages and secure their quick release.

A security official told AFP that the hostages, kidnapped by gunmen suspected of links to Al-Qaeda, were probably still in Sanaa.

Another official had said Friday that al-Qaeda had threatened to kidnap foreigners and to stage bank hold-ups if the authorities fail to release members of an imprisoned network.

The three hostages -- an Austrian man, a Finnish man and a Finnish woman – were abducted when they were preparing to travel to the southern port of Aden via second city of Taez.

The two men were learning Arabic in Sanaa, while the woman had arrived recently in Yemen.

Hundreds of people have been abducted in Yemen over the past 15 years, many of them by members of the country’s powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the authorities.

Almost all of them have later been freed unharmed.

But Al-Qaeda is also held responsible for abductions in Yemen, including that of a Saudi diplomat, Abdallah al-Khalidi, who remains in the hands of the extremist network since his kidnapping on March 28 in Aden.

from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Sun Dec 23, 2012 17:48 pm (KSA) 14:48 pm (GMT)

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Al-Qaida beheads 3 Yemeni security agents linked to U.S. drone strikes

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

SANAA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's interior ministry said Tuesday that al-Qaida wing has beheaded three Yemeni men after accusing them of allegedly collaborating with Yemeni-U.S. joint intelligence unit that killed several al-Qaida members by drone strikes.

The unidentified headless bodies were found dumped earlier Tuesday in the streets of the oil producer Marib province, some 170 km northeast of the capital Sanaa.

According to the ministry, three recorded video tapes were found with the bodies, in which the men admitted of working as agents for the Yemeni-U.S. joint intelligence unit and planting a number of tracking devices linked to U.S. unmanned warplanes that had killed several al-Qaida members.

The Yemeni-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) has yet to issue a statement in its jihadi websites to comment on the incident.

Yemen has already undertaken a political transition leads by the U.S.-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the stepping down of former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier this year under a peaceful transfer of power backed by the United Nations.

Restoring security in Yemen has become an international priority after last year's unrest has created security vacuum which was exploited by the insurgent al-Qaida wing to control swaths of remote land and expand activities to major cities. The militants were drove by a U.S.-backed offensive in June.

On Saturday, the Yemeni defence ministry said it aborted an attempt by two al-Qaida suicide bombers from bombing their explosives-laden car near an air force base used by the U.S. Marines in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj.


from XINHUA
2012-10-09 19:41:48

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Al-Qaida militants kill Yemeni intelligence officer in Sanaa

SANAA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Suspected al-Qaida gunmen shot dead a senior intelligence officer in an attack in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday, an interior ministry official said.

"Major Yehya Badi of the Political Security Agency was gunned down in Habra street in central Sanaa Thursday afternoon in an attack carried out by two masked al-Qaida gunmen on a motorcycle," the official, who led an investigation into the incident, told Xinhua.

"They fled the scene after Badi fell dead," he said on condition of anonymity, citing testimonies of eyewitnesses.

The attack came one day after a U.S. drone strike killed five al-Qaida operatives on a vehicle in a desert area in the Yemeni southeastern province of Hadramout.

Several intelligence and security members have been targeted in Sanaa and other major cities in a string of high-level assassinations since a U.S.-backed offensive drove al-Qaida militants out of their main strongholds in southern restive province of Abyan two months ago, where the militants had controlled for nearly a year during political turmoil that eventually forced the replacement of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh with his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The United States and neighboring oil-rich Saudi Arabia have beefed up anti-terror cooperation since Hadi took office to help his administration overcome security challenges and combat resurgent branch of al-Qaida network in particular.


from XINHUA
2012-08-31 04:10:38

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Yemen arrests 3 al-Qaida suspects, including Syrian national

SANAA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's police forces arrested three al-Qaida suspects, including a Syrian national, at an airport in the country's western port city of al-Hodayda late on Wednesday, a security official said.

The three men were arrested upon their arrival at the airport of the Red Sea city of al-Hodayda, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, adding that they were flying from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

The arrest took place after the police received an intelligence tip-off, the official said, noting that security measures have been tightened around the country's airports.

Backed by the United States, the Yemeni transitional government has been strengthening its anti-terror campaign since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February after a year of political upheaval where al-Qaida branch captured several cities in the lawless parts of the country.

The militants were recently either captured or hunted by the security authorities after a U.S.-backed offensive in June, which routed the militants out of their strongholds in the southern province of Abyan.

Combating al-Qaida network is one of the challenges confronting Hadi, who has promised to reform the army, restore security and uproot the resurgent branch of al-Qaida, locally known as Ansar al- Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law).

from XINHUA
2012-08-30 07:25:22

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4 killed, 15 injured in clashes between Republican Guards, Yemeni troops

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and 15 injured Tuesday in clashes between members of the Republican Guards and soldiers guarding the Yemeni defense ministry in the capital Sanaa, a medical source said.

The clashes erupted when members of the Republican Guards, led by the son of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were protesting near the defense ministry against a recent military reorganization ordered by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Casualties were reported from both sides, and the killed include a woman and a children, the source said.

"About 250 soldiers of the elite Republican Guard forces protesting over military restructure tried to attack the defense ministry with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades," a government official told Xinhua.

"Just few hours after the clashes, police reinforcements were deployed around the ministry headquarters... Situation (is) now under control," he added.

About 40 protesters were arrested for trying to storm the ministry building, a military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"All roads leading to the ministry are completely blocked... Gunshots and clashes (are) raging out across Sanaa," a witness near the scene told Xinhua anonymously.

The armed clashes came a week after the current president, Hadi, issued a republican decree to restructure the army forces, including reducing the number of units under the command of Saleh' s son, and replacing several relative and loyalists to the former president.

Restructuring the armed forces remains a priority of Hadi, who seeks to ensure a successful political reconciliation and pave the way for a national dialogue expected in November to end disputes among all political forces, in order to focus efforts on fighting al-Qaida branch in the country.


from XINHUA
2012-08-15 01:58:10

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Yemen tribesmen release Italian officer -official (updated)

from REUTERS
Thu Aug 2, 2012 5:44pm EDT
* Italian security officer said to be in good health

* Yemeni minister unscathed in attack, aides wounded

Aug 2 (Reuters) - An Italian embassy security officer kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen has been released unharmed, a government official said on Thursday, the same day the country's information minister survived an assassination attempt.

The incidents highlight continuing instability in Yemen five months after former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was formally replaced by his deputy under a plan designed to forestall a slide into lawlessness.

During the uprising that toppled Saleh, militants associated with al Qaeda strengthened their position in areas of south and east Yemen, further testing central government control in a country riven with tribalism and regionalism.

"The Italian diplomat was handed over to the governor of Maarib and he is in good health and will be transferred to Sanaa later to be handed over to the Italian ambassador," the official told Reuters.

The abductors who detained the security officer in the oil-producing province of Maarib had demanded to be compensated for the detention of one of their relatives and the return of land they say they own in the capital Sanaa, a tribal source said, adding they were promised their demands will be met.

In a further sign of lawlessness in the Arabian Peninsula country, the Information Minister survived an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire on his car in the capital Sanaa, a government source said.

The minister was not harmed but two of his aides were wounded.

Yemen's location beside leading oil exporter Saudi Arabia and astride key world shipping routes has heightened regional and Western concern over its security problems.

Yemen ranks alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan for U.S. policymakers concerned with the spread of al Qaeda networks.

---

from AL ARABIYA:
Last Updated: Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:24 am (KSA) 08:24 am (GMT)

An Italian embassy security agent kidnapped in Yemen over the weekend was freed Thursday in the province of Mareb east of the capital Sanaa, a tribal source and a local official said.

Alessandro Spadotto was released following “tribal mediation” and handed over to local authorities, the source told AFP. He will be driven to the Yemeni capital on Friday morning.

The tribal mediation was backed by the governor of the province, the source said. A local official confirmed the release to AFP.

The interior ministry had said the kidnapper from the al-Jalal tribe seized the 29-year-old in Sanaa to press the authorities to drop charges against him in “cases of murder and banditry” and offer him compensation.

Marebpress, an Internet site close to Yemeni tribes, had said the abductor Ali Naser Huraidkan also wanted the authorities lift a travel ban against him.

“We want the state to respond and cancel a circular banning me from travel,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, Spadotto managed to contact a member of his family by mobile text message following his abduction on Sunday.

Italian news agency ANSA had cited officials as saying that he was a member of Italy’s Carabinieri military police. It also said he was picked up while in civilian clothes in a shop near the embassy.

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Yemen arrests suspected Qaeda leader

Map of Yemen showing Abyan governorate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SANAA: Yemeni security services have arrested a suspected al Qaeda leader, Abdulrahman al-Baihani, wanted for plotting “terrorist’ attacks in the capital, state news agency Saba said Tuesday.

The suspect is “one of the most dangerous wanted al Qaeda elements and among the prominent leaders plotting to carry out acts of terrorism and sabotage in the capital,” Saba quoted a high-ranking security official as saying.

Baihani, who was arrested on Monday, “took part in fighting armed forces in Abyan province” from which al Qaeda militants were ousted in June following deadly battles with Yemeni forces.

He also “brought children whom he sent to fight alongside al Qaeda in Abyan and Shabwa provinces,” the official said.

Earlier in July, Yemen announced it has placed its security services on high alert to prevent “terrorist” attacks after it uncovered a plot to launch assaults against security and military checkpoints.

Al Qaeda militants have carried out several deadly attacks against Yemeni security services since President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who has repeatedly vowed to battle extremists, came to power this year.

In May, a Yemeni soldier detonated explosives packed under his uniform in the middle of an army battalion in the capital Sanaa, killing 96 troops and wounding around 300.

The Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, believed to be the global network’s most effective and lethal franchise, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

And on July 11, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of a police academy in Sanaa, killing eight cadets and wounding several more.

Officials had accused al Qaeda of carrying out the assault. But the network has not claimed responsibility for this attack.

from DAWN

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11 soldiers killed in clashes at Yemen's interior ministry

SANAA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 security soldiers were killed and dozens of others were wounded during heavy clashes between security forces and gunmen belonging to the defected army at the Yemeni interior ministry on Tuesday morning, police sources and medics said.

"A total of 11 soldiers' bodies have been brought to the police hospital and dozens of others were receiving treatment," doctors at the hospital told Xinhua.

"There is no information about casualties among the defected military forces so far," one of the doctors said.

Police officials said the clashes erupted after troops of the defected First Armored Division and gunmen loyal to opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar in security uniforms entered the headquarters of the interior ministry late Monday.

"A large number of troops from the defected army and militants loyal to al-Ahmar attacked the security soldiers guarding the building of the ministry, and they then set up several barricades around the scene," a police official at the ministry told Xinhua by phone.

"The government forces in the nearby security camp tried to protect the ministry and drove those militants away... but the defected troops opened fire on the security soldiers. Severe clashes have continued for more than 10 hours," he said on condition of anonymity.

"The defected soldiers claimed that they received orders from the defected general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to enter the ministry in order to protect it," he added.

All roads leading to the clash area were blocked by the rescue police forces and armed tribesmen led by Sadiq al-Ahmar. According to witnesses, militants loyal to al-Ahmar have been deployed around the interior ministry.

Several ambulances carrying injured soldiers were seen coming out from the clash zone and a nearby security camp, which is responsible for guarding the ministry.

Meanwhile, about eight armored vehicles from the central security forces were seen heading to the interior ministry, while the sound of heavy machine guns was still rocking the area.

According to witnesses, both the rival forces sent reinforcement to the area after clashes intensified and spread Tuesday afternoon to neighborhoods close to the U.S. embassy in eastern the capital.

This is the worst clashes since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February. Sanaa has witnessed a month- long street battles between the defected army backed by militants of Sadiq al-Ahmar and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh before Saleh handed over power to Hadi after the presidential election.

Hadi has vowed to reunify the army, restore security and launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions to focus efforts on combating the Yemen-based al-Qaida network.

---
from REUTERS:

Eight killed in clashes near Yemen Interior Ministry 

(Reuters) - Eight people were killed in clashes between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who were trying to storm the Interior Ministry in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, a medical source said.

The source said a "large number" of people were also wounded in the fighting. It was not clear whether those killed were soldiers or tribesmen.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Isabel Coles)
SANAA | Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:40am BST

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Gunmen take over Sanaa interior ministry building: official

(Reuters) - About 100 armed tribesmen stormed the Interior Ministry building in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday demanding to be enlisted in the police force, a ministry official said.

The tribesmen, who have taken control of the building, briefly held some employees hostage before freeing them a few hours later, the official said, but they were still occupying the building.

Tribesmen have fought alongside government troops in a U.S.-backed offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants that drove insurgents out of several towns in the south of the country last month. Many tribal fighters also sided with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who was toppled by a popular uprising.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; writing by Rania El Gamal)
SANAA | Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:25am EDT
---

Police Officer: Yemeni Police Forces storm Interior Ministry headquarter

A group of Police soldiers stormed the Ministry of Interior's headquarter in the capital Sana’a, including the Minister's office, a senior officer at the ministry told the Yemen Observer at 2:24 pm.

The officer, who requested anonymity for the sensitivity of the subject, said that some 300 soldiers of the police department called al-Najdah (Police) stormed the Ministry demanding due payments be paid as well as the removal of the head of the Police Department who was recently appointed by President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi.

“An hour ago, groups of the Police Department at the Ministry of Interior stormed the ministry, closing all offices. They also closed the minister’s office demanding due payments and removal of the head of the Police Department, Hussain al-Rathi,” said the officer.

The officer said that the Police Department personnel, along with other security soldiers, had due payments for about seven years now, which was expected to be paid in July.

The officer said that the riot forces are expected to go to the ministry to break it up. “But it is unlikely that the riot police will use force against them as they are also having the same problems,” the officer said.

from Yemen Observer
Written By: Shuaib M. al-Mosawa
Article Date: Jul 29, 2012 - 2:54:14 PM

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Al-Qaida assassinates Yemeni intelligence officer

Map by Evan Centanni. (www.polgeonow.com)

SANAA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Al-Qaida gunmen shot dead a Yemeni intelligence officer in the southern province of al-Bayda, Yemen's defence ministry said on Friday.

"Officer Ghazi Saeed Abdullah of the Political Security Agency was gunned down in al-Bayda's town of Radda late on Thursday by two al-Qaida terrorists who managed to flee on a motorbike," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

On Thursday, al-Qaida militants killed a security officer in the southern port city of Aden by attaching a magnetic bomb on his car, just one day after the group assassinated another high- ranking security official in neighboring province of Shabwa, according to police sources.

The latest assassinations against Yemeni security personnel began last month after a U.S.-backed military offensive drove the militants out of several southern cities and claimed a major victory against the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

A week after the government announced its victory in early June, the al-Qaida carried out a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden on June 18 that killed the commander of Yemen's southern military region and it also launched a suicide attack in the capital Sanaa on July 11 that killed more than 20 police cadets.

from XINHUA
2012-07-21 04:12:40

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At least 22 dead in Yemen police academy suicide bombing

(Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a police academy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday, an attack police investigators said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Medics said dozens of people were also injured in the attack, which appeared to have been timed to coincide with the cadets leaving the academy at the end of the school day.

Witnesses said police closed the scene of the attack and began investigating the blast as ambulances ferried casualties to hospital.

The attack appeared to mirror a suicide bombing in May, when a suicide bomber in army uniform struck at the heart of Yemen's military establishment, killing more than 90 people during a rehearsal for an army parade in Sanaa.

That attack was claimed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which U.S. officials have described as the most dangerous grouping of the global militant network.

Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda have vowed to carry their fight across Yemen after a U.S.-backed military offensive in May drove them out of strongholds they took last year during protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule.

A number of attacks since the recent offensive indicate that the militants still pose a serious threat.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Louise Ireland)

from Reuters 
SANAA | Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:10pm BST 
---
private video of the aftermath:

---
from Iona Craig / Twitter:

Police academy students say six dead in suicide bomb attack. They claim bomber still alive after losing arm and injuries to side. 
— Iona Craig (@ionacraig) July 11, 2012

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Yemen captures al-Qaida cell near president's house

SANAA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni counter-terrorism units captured an al-Qaida cell in a neighbourhood near the residential compound of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, a police source said.

"The anti-terror forces raided al-Sunainah neighbourhood, a few meters away from Hadi's house in the west of Sanaa, capturing an al-Qaida cell of four members at dawn on Wednesday," the source told Xinhua anonymously.

"The cell is accused of assassinating a senior intelligence officer two days ago in the same neighbourhood by setting a bomb under the driver seat," he said.

The Yemeni government launched a months-long military offensive against al-Qaida fighters, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia ( Partisans of Islamic Law). Last week, the army completely drove the militants out of their strongholds in several southern cities which they had controlled for nearly one year.

Combating al-Qaida militants in the south is one of the challenges confronting President Hadi, who has promised to launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions and uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida.

from XINHUA
2012-07-04 18:17:30

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Suicide bombing attacks Yemeni security soldiers, 50 killed

SANAA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Several suicide bombers blew themselves up among security soldiers who were practising for a military parade in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Monday, killing some 50 people, police officials said.

Police officials told Xinhua that at least 50 soldiers were killed after a number of suicide bombers targeted the soldiers in al-Sabeen square, a few meters northwest of the presidential palace.

The parade was scheduled for Tuesday to mark Yemen's 22nd anniversary of reunification.

Officials said the suicide bombers wearing security uniform blew themselves up among the soldiers when they marched through al- Sabeen square. They said the attack bore the hallmark of the al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen's resurgent terrorist off-shoot.

The explosion occurred when Yemen's defense minister and chief of staff of the army arrived at the square, however, they survived the suicide bombing.

The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, according to the police.

Witnesses said human remains were scattered across the explosion site and policemen have cordoned off the scene.

According to sources from the defense ministry, the ministry received intelligence last week that unidentified militants were planning to carry out suicide car bombing attack in Sanaa.

Monday's attack is most deadly one since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took over power in February. He pledged that large- scale attacks will continue to strike al-Qaida bastions "until we have eradicated their presence in every village."

It also comes 10 days into a massive army offensive against Al- Qaeda in Yemen's restive southern Abyan province, where the jihadists have seized control of a string of towns and cities in attacks launched since last May.

With the support of the U.S. experts and drones, the Yemeni government has launched an "all-out offensive" against al-Qaida militants for nine days in the southern province of Abyan.

The ongoing fighting has left more than two hundred people from both sides killed, while thousands of civilians have fled to neighboring provinces of Aden and Lahj.

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