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Yemen forces 'foil al-Qaeda plot' | Yemen forces 'foil al-Qaeda plot' |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Thirty-four suspected al-Qaeda militants have been killed and 17 arrested by security forces, the Yemeni defence ministry said. | Thirty-four suspected al-Qaeda militants have been killed and 17 arrested by security forces, the Yemeni defence ministry said. |
The militants had allegedly been planning multiple suicide attacks, with eight of them preparing explosive vests, Reuters news agency reported. | The militants had allegedly been planning multiple suicide attacks, with eight of them preparing explosive vests, Reuters news agency reported. |
The operations were carried out in Abyan province in the south and in Arhab, north of the capital Sanaa. | The operations were carried out in Abyan province in the south and in Arhab, north of the capital Sanaa. |
The resurgence of al-Qaeda in Yemen has raised concern in the region. | The resurgence of al-Qaeda in Yemen has raised concern in the region. |
Officials have indicated that the operations were considered a major success against al-Qaeda. | Officials have indicated that the operations were considered a major success against al-Qaeda. |
Hideouts hit | Hideouts hit |
The group was planning a number of suicide attacks against foreign and local targets, they say. | The group was planning a number of suicide attacks against foreign and local targets, they say. |
Airforce jets and soldiers hit training camps and hideouts early on Thursday, disrupting plans for attacks on domestic and foreign interests in Yemen, including schools, according to the ministry-linked website sep26.net. | Airforce jets and soldiers hit training camps and hideouts early on Thursday, disrupting plans for attacks on domestic and foreign interests in Yemen, including schools, according to the ministry-linked website sep26.net. |
The organisation has carried out frequent attacks in Yemen in recent months, generally against relatively low-level targets in the provinces such as local security officials. | The organisation has carried out frequent attacks in Yemen in recent months, generally against relatively low-level targets in the provinces such as local security officials. |
The US concerns about al-Qaeda in Yemen stem partly from the fact that the government in Sanaa has so many other security issues to worry about, says the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in Sanaa. | The US concerns about al-Qaeda in Yemen stem partly from the fact that the government in Sanaa has so many other security issues to worry about, says the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in Sanaa. |
They include a civil war in the north of the country, and frequent armed pro-independence protests in the south. | They include a civil war in the north of the country, and frequent armed pro-independence protests in the south. |
'Thousands of jihadis' | |
Yemen has long been an ideal base for jihadists, BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says. | |
It is not just the ancestral home of the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. With its rugged mountains and traditionally weak central authority, it is terrain well suited to militant groups looking for hiding places and training camps. | |
Large numbers of Yemenis fought Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s - and today Yemenis comprise the largest group of prisoners still being held by the Americans in Guantanamo Bay. | |
Last year the Yemeni foreign minister estimated there were over a thousand jihadi fighters in the country. | |
Al-Qaeda militants have carried out a string of suicide attacks over the last two years against targets including the US embassy and Western tourists. | |
They have also used the country as a base from which to attack neighbouring Saudi Arabia. | |
While the authorities insist they're doing everything they can to crush the jihadist movement, analysts believe that some radical Islamists have friends in high places who turn a blind eye to their activities, our BBC analyst Roger Hardy says . |