Yemen announces the killing of more than 30 al-Qaeda operatives

By Faisal Darem in Sanaa
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-02-02

[AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images] Yemeni soldiers march during a military parade in Dhamar, south of Sanaa.

More than 30 al-Qaeda terrorists have been killed and a number were arrested as a result of military operations carried out by the security and armed forces over the past two months, according to Major General Mutahar al-Masri, Yemen's Interior Minister.

At a ceremony marking the graduation of new conscripts for public security and the police last Tuesday (January 26th), Al-Masri said "The security forces have struck strong and severe blows at the terrorist operatives", which he described as "a small group, which will be pursued and uprooted from all areas of Yemen".

Major General Fadl al-Qousi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, told Al-Shorfa that "Yemen's war with al-Qaeda is an open war". He added that pre-emptive operations against al-Qaeda operatives that had been achieved on the ground were "excellent work, which will continue to frustrate the terrorists' plans".

Al-Qousi said that the strengthening of security procedures has prevented the organisation's operatives in Yemen from carrying out their plans. The most recent example is the operation last Friday (January 29th) in which the terrorist Salih Al-Shawish was arrested in the province of Hadramaut while riding a motorbike in the area of Khalf. A suicide belt containing TNT was wrapped around his body. He also carried improvised explosive devices, a number of grenades, explosive detonators and a remote detonation device.

Al-Shawish was reportedly planning to carry out a suicide operation against a number of economic institutions. He was also involved in several past terrorist acts, including attacking some security checkpoints in Hadramaut province and in terrorist operations targeting the central security base in Seiyun. Al-Qousi said that the security forces would not waver in pursuing terrorist operatives, arresting them and bringing them to justice.

Tariq Shami, head of the Press Bureau of the ruling General People Congress party, said in an interview with Al-Shorfa that "there are no specific statistics relating to al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen because the organisation doesn't have a public facade or a known location. These are operatives who move from place to place."

"That's why it is important to prosecute them in order to bring them to justice," he added. Shami stressed the importance of the international community's support for Yemen in fighting al-Qaeda.

"Fighting terrorism is not restricted to security and military fronts, but includes aspects of economic development. Ending poverty and unemployment ensures that there is no suitable environment for the al-Qaeda organisation to grow or attract supporters, which hinders the implementation of the terrorists' plans."

Regarding the most recent operation carried out in Hadramaut, Shami said that the arrest of Al-Shawish comes in the context of the security forces' new direction, and the plan which has been announced to pursue al-Qaeda's operatives in Yemen.

"The continuation of the Yemeni army's war against al-Qaeda, the continuation of pre-emptive operations and arrests and the strengthening of security procedures, shows that Yemen is capable of fighting al-Qaeda," Dr. Faris Al-Saqaf, president of the Future Studies Centre, told Al-Shorfa.

"The continuing security campaigns will tighten the noose around the organisation," he said. "It won't be able to pick up the pieces again, especially following the London conference where international support was given to Yemen to fight al-Qaeda."

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