Saudi, British FMs discuss regional developments in phone call    Saudi Arabia unveils new skill-based system for expatriate work permits Classification for existing workers began on June 18 while July 1 set for newcomers    New Saudi embassy building inaugurated in Moscow    Nearly 17 million foreign pilgrims perform Umrah in 2024, up 101% from 2022 Makkah ranks 5th globally in number of international visitors    Saudi Arabia reaffirms dedication to achieving equitable and sustainable digital development    Over 80,000 commercial registrations issued in 2Q 2025, bringing total to 1.7 million    Elon Musk announces launch of new political party amid fallout with Trump    UK Foreign Secretary makes historic visit to Syria    Khamenei makes first public appearance since Iran–Israel war    Desperate search continues as Texas flood kills 51, including 15 children 27 girls from summer camp still missing    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Level Up Docuseries launches June 6 on Prime Video    OPEC+ further accelerates oil output hike by 548,000 bpd in August    Saudi Arabia tops global ICT Development Index for 2025    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Qaida militants killed in clash
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 04 - 01 - 2010

Security forces killed two suspected al-Qaida militants in clashes outside the Yemeni capital on Monday, officials said, as the French and Czech embassies closed their doors to the public, joining their U.S. and British counterparts, in response to threats of attack by the terror group"s offshoot here, according to AP.
The clashes took place in a region northeast of the capital where last month the government carried out intensified raids against an al-Qaida cell it said was plotting attacks against foreign interests, possibly including embassies. In that Dec. 17 raid, officials said four would-be suicide bombers were killed.
The U.S. and British embassies closed on Sunday after what U.S. officials said were signs of al-Qaida was planning an attack in San"a, possibly against the diplomatic missions.
An officer on duty at the U.S. Embassy in San"a said Monday that the closure remained in force. A State Department spokesman, Fred Lash, said reopening would be assessed day to day, based on the perceived threat to U.S. personnel. The Foreign Office in London said the British were also reviewing the situation.
More Western embassies took steps of their own in the face of the threats, though they stopped short of completely shutting down. The French and Czech embassies were closed to the public, their governments said, warning citizens to avoid travel to the country. Spain"s embassy in San"a restricted access to the public, and the German Foreign Ministry said that at its embassy «the number of visitors was restricted due to increased security measures.»
In Monday"s clashes, security forces attacked a group of al-Qaida militants including Nazeeh al-Hanaq, a senior figure on Yemen"s most wanted list, as they moved through the mountainous area of Arhab on Monday, security officials said.
Al-Hanaq escaped, but two fighters with him were killed in the battle, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
The officials said Monday"s raid was not connected to the threats that prompted the embassy closures.
Yemen has carried out a string of raids on al-Qaida hideouts in the past month, part of an intensified effort _ backed by the United States _ to stamp out the terror group"s growing presence in this impoverished, fragmented nation at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
President Barack Obama says al-Qaida"s offshoot in Yemen was behind the failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner heading to Detroit on Christmas. The United States and Britain have dramatically ramped up counterterrorism aid to San"a, including helping train and fund special units to combat the group.
Al-Qaida has several hundred members in Yemen and is actively planning attacks against U.S. targets, Obama"s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, said Sunday.
Washington"s aid aims to give the Yemeni government with «the wherewithal» to take down al-Qaida, Brennan said, but he underlined that the administration was not currently planning on sending U.S. troops. «We"re not talking about that at this point at all,» he said.
The Obama administration says the suspect in the failed Christmas Day bomb plot against a Detroit-bound jetliner was trained and armed by the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen. Brennan blamed a series of what he called lapses and human errors in U.S. intelligence and security defenses for allowing a Nigerian man to board the plane with explosives. Passengers and crew subdued the suspect when he tried to set off the explosion as the aircraft approached Detroit; he succeeded only setting himself on fire.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Sunday that, starting Monday, passengers flying into the United States from Nigeria, Yemen and other «countries of interest» will be subject to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans and pat-downs.
But in assisting Yemen against al-Qaida, the United States has to tread carefully. The Yemeni government is friendly to the West but the population is often mistrustful of Western motives and influence _ and too direct an American intervention can embarrass the leadership.
In a sign of the sensitivities, Yemen"s foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, insisted the U.S.-Yemeni coordination does not allow Washington to carry out strikes on targets in Yemen with cruise missiles. «There are no such agreements, and there are no proposals to do so,» he cited, cited in the Yemeni press Monday.
There have been unconfirmed reports that U.S. missiles carried out strikes on al-Qaida hideouts on Dec. 17 and on Dec. 24, which Yemeni officials say targeted a gathering of the group"s leaders and killed around 30 militants.
Yemen has pledged to clamp down on militancy, but government control is weak outside the capital and the country has a history of freeing some alleged militants and tolerating others. The government is also besieged by other mounting crises: a war in the north with Shiite rebels, separatist unrest in the south, and increasing poverty among the population of 22 million.
Al-Qaida fighters _ including some arriving from warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan _ have built up strongholds in remote provinces of the country, at times aided by tribes disgruntled with the San"a government. Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, was the site of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors. A 2008 attack on the U.S. Embassy killed one American.
Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, made a surprise visit to Yemen over the weekend, a day after announcing that Washington this year will more than double the $67 million in counterterrorism aid that it provided Yemen in 2009.
The U.S. and Britain are funding a counterterrorism police unit in Yemen, and Britain plans to host an international conference Jan. 28 to come up with a strategy to counter radicalization in Yemen.


Clic here to read the story from its source.