Sources have said that a “not inconsiderable” number of Saudi nationals whose names are on the Ministry of Interior's February 2009 list of 85 persons wanted in connection with terrorism have been observed in recent times in the Yemeni region of Marib. Naji Al-Zayedi, the governor of the region, told Okaz that the Yemeni leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser Al-Wuhaishi, and the organization's “second man”, Saudi national Saeed Al-Shehri, along with its military commander Qasim Al-Eaimi had been spotted in the region. “The security campaign being carried out by the Yemeni authorities will not cease until it has terminated the terrorist and outlaw elements,” Al-Zayedi said. The whereabouts of the wife of Saeed Al-Shehri and her three children remain a mystery, however, but sources suggested that she was in the company of her two nephews – Abdullah Al-Shehri who is on the list of 85 wanted – and Abdul Majeed Al-Shehri, who is believed to have joined the organization after entering Yemeni territory at the end of last year. The sources further suggested that Abdul Majeed Al-Shehri may have been carrying funds collected by Haila Al-Qusayyer – whose arrest was recently announced by the Ministry of Interior – and passed them on to Saeed Al-Shehri. The region of Marib, which lies to the northeast of the capital Sana'a in the northwest of Yemen, has seen in recent days bombardments by the Yemeni army on sites believed to be harboring members of Al-Qaeda. Governor Al-Zayedi declined to confirm or deny reports of the death of Al-Qaeda leader Ali Saeed Bin Jameel, whose house was reportedly destroyed by the strikes.
