A top Yemeni official has confirmed that the country is working closely with Saudi Arabian security and intelligence authorities to tighten border controls that will prevent terrorists crossing over and launching attacks on installations in the Kingdom. The Governor of the Yemeni Marib Governorate, Naji Abdul Aziz Al-Zaidi, disclosed that this close cooperation is particularly aimed at ensuring that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) cannot use the desert in the governorate to enter Saudi territory. Al-Zaidi's comments come just as sources in Yemen said that the Marib region has been used by terrorists in the past to plan and launch attacks in the Kingdom. The sources said that the explosive capsule used by suicide bomber Abdullah Asiri, in the botched assassination attempt on Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs on Aug. 17, 2009, was implanted in the man's body “at a den of Al-Qaeda in the Marib Governorate”. The sources further said that Asiri, who died in the assassination attempt, had stayed in the Marib Governorate before entering the Kingdom across the land border with Yemen. The Governor said: “We don't know exactly where the suicide bomber stayed before infiltrating into the Kingdom because Marib is a desert region.” However, he admitted that terrorists use his governorate as a crossing zone. “The security cooperation between the authorities on both sides is based on the exchange of information and joint coordination to close the gaps through which Al-Qaeda elements in Yemen can infiltrate the Kingdom,” said Al-Zaidi. He stressed that the security of Yemen and the Kingdom cannot be treated separately. The Yemeni official could not say whether the family of the second man in AQAP, Sa'eed Al-Shihri, his wife Wafa Al-Shihri and her three children – were staying somewhere in Marib. “We don't know exactly where Al-Shihri's family is staying. If we knew about their presence in the governorate, we would have taken security measures speedily.” Al-Zaidi drew attention to the fact that the border area between Marib and the Kingdom is a desert and that the terrain has therefore been exploited by terrorists. However, he stressed that the Yemeni authorities are working closely with the community in the region to help in its efforts.”The tribesmen in Marib are working hand-in-hand with the security authorities to safeguard and maintain security at all levels.” He said the security measures taken in Marib have helped to prevent acts of sabotage. He said that the terrorist elements are now on the run and that if they try to attack oil installations, like they have done in the past, they will be harshly dealt with. Marib Governorate is located 173 kilometers east of the Yemeni capital Sana'a. It is bound in the north by Al-Jouf Governorate and the Empty Quarter Desert (Al-Rub' Al-Khali), and from the south by the two governorates of Al-Baidha and Shabwa and the Empty Quarter Desert. Saudi Gazette reported previously that the Saudi authorities arrested several Al-Qaeda members in the Kingdom, who were linked to the organization in Yemen. In March this year, the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of 113 Al-Qaeda members, over the previous seven months, including suicide bombers who had been planning attacks on energy and security facilities in the country. The interior ministry said its sweep, among the biggest in several years, netted 58 suspected militants, 52 from Yemen and three from Bangladesh, Eritrea and Somalia. The militants were backed by Al-Qaeda in Yemen and evidence showed they had been communicating with it “for orders”, said the ministry's spokesman Mansour Al-Turki. He said the 55 foreigners were running the network while the others were the executers of the operations.US attack Yemen has been at the forefront of security concerns after a failed December attack on a US-bound plane. Al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack. Most of the 113, including one Saudi woman, was arrested in Riyadh, Qassim and Eastern Province regions. The 113 militants were organized into three cells, including two planning suicide attacks on oil and security facilities and security officials in the oil-producing Eastern Province, home to the world's biggest oil refinery. The group had chosen Yemen as a base to launch its operations. Authorities seized weapons, ammunition and explosive belts from houses and from deserted areas where some of the weapons were buried. Al-Turki also revealed that the two militants, Yousif Muhammed Al-Jubairi Al-Shihri and Raed Abdullah Al-Thahri Al-Harbi, who were killed by police in a shootout at Al-Hamra checkpoint in Jizan's Al-Darb area south of the country in October 2009, had entered the country through the southern border. Explosive vests He said weapons were seized in that incident, including two explosive vests they had on under the women's clothing they wore as a disguise. Two other ready-to-use vests and 12 hand grenades were also seized. The authorities later arrested seven people, including Yemenis, who were charged with coordinating the entry of the two men into the Kingdom.
