Five wanted al-Qaeda suspects were arrested at Khushm al-Bakrah checkpoint in Bani al-Harith district 20 kilometers to the north of the capital Sana’a last Wednesday, said security sources at the Khushm al-Bakra checkpoint.
The sources added that they arrested five terrorist suspects driving a black van, adding that the five persons had been wanted by security authorities and that their ages are between 19- 45.
The source said they had received a communication from the Ministry of Interior based on intelligence indicating that the five wanted men were on their way from Bani Hushish district towards to Sana’a.
The security sources did not reveal the suspects’ affiliation; however some local sources said the suspects were among those who took part in the rebel acts in Bani Hushish district in the past few weeks.
The Ministry of Interior refused to reveal the identities or affiliations of the five arrested suspects under the pretence of protecting their sources of information and so as not to affect the investigation process. In a related development, a leading al-Qaeda suspect and four of his body guards have been arrested in the far eastern part of Yemen, official sources said on Wednesday.
“Security officials arrested Haitham bin Sa'ad and four of his guards in al-Wadi and al-Sahra district in Hadhramout province," said a statement released by the Ministry of Interior.
The alleged al-Qaeda member and his bodyguards were put in the custody of the intelligence prison of Sayoun district before being transported to the capital Sana'a, the statement added.
The Yemeni authorities' crack-down on al-Qaeda activities came after Yemen was accused by the United States of "coddling the terrorists" rather than holding them accountable. Relations between the two countries have not been good since Yemen refused to extradite two Yemeni al-Qaeda members accused by the United States of terrorist acts.
“The United States believes that Jamal al-Badawi, responsible for the murder of 17 American sailors aboard the USS Cole, should be extradited to the United States to stand trial for his crime. We also believe that Jabr al-Bannah, who chose to become an American citizen, should be extradited to face charges in the United States," said a statement released by the US embassy this week. Yemen says its constitution bans the extradition of any citizen to a foreign country.
“We have engaged in lengthy discussions on these issues with the Government of Yemen, which has made clear its position that the Yemeni Constitution precludes extradition. These discussions continue and in the meantime we insist that these two individuals and others who conduct acts of terrorism and violence, should be held accountable and imprisoned in Yemen," the statement from the embassy said. The two men are currently in prison.
Earlier this month the authorities said they had arrested a non-Yemeni al-Qaeda suspect after failed attacks on oil installations in the southern port of Aden. The arrested man was described as a dangerous al-Qaeda affiliate coming from an Islamic Asian country.
The hunt down came after failed attacks on oil refineries in the southern harbor of Aden, where three mortars were fired by unknown attackers on the pipelines but no damage was reported.
A group calling itself Jund al-Yemen Brigades, the al-Qaeda group in Yemen, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Shortly after that attack, Yemeni authorities announced that they had arrested a group of 11 al-Qaeda suspects in Sana'a.
The officials said the group was connected with a number of previous attacks which targeted Western interests in Yemen like the US and Italian embassies.