Yemeni tribesmen in Abyan province captured "the al-Qaeda emir of Modia" following clashes that left nine al-Qaeda members dead, the Yemeni Ministry of Defence announced Monday (November 21st).

According to the ministry's website, two tribesmen in Modia, a directorate of Abyan province, were killed and two others were wounded Monday by a roadside bomb.

Mohamed al-Tahati, head of the Modia directorate, told Al-Shorfa that the death of the two citizens prompted the popular committees -- groups comprised of local tribesmen -- to clash with the al-Qaeda militants responsible for planting the bomb.

The tribesmen killed three al-Qaeda gunmen and laid siege to the house of Abdul Ilah al-Thahiri, "the al-Qaeda emir of Modia". They then killed six of his aides and wounded four others before detaining al-Thahiri, according to al-Tahati.

"Al-Thahiri was leading a sleeper cell in Modia and was in permanent hiding after the Modia directorate was cleared of [al-Qaeda] elements in a military campaign over a year ago," al-Tahati said. "The tribesmen rose up to protect themselves and their property from the ravages of al-Qaeda to prevent what happened in Jaar and Zinjibar from occurring."

Citizen co-operation against al-Qaeda

Dr. Saeed Obaid al-Jamhi, president of al-Jamhi Centre for Studies and Research, told Al-Shorfa that al-Thahiri's arrest represents a new blow to the organisation, and that it came through citizen co-operation with security officials.

Al-Jamhi said the government's support of popular committees will contribute greatly to successful future campaigns against al-Qaeda.

"Government forces prefer to capture organisation members so they can obtain information from their confessions and find out about al-Qaeda's future plans," he said.

Ahmed al-Rahwi, deputy governor of Abyan, praised the work of the popular committees in capturing al-Thahiri.

"This indicates that the people sense their responsibilities after the devastation and destruction that took place in Zinjibar and Jaar. They fear that al-Qaeda could move to their directorate and repeat the scenario of establishing an Islamic emirate everywhere in Abyan province," he said.

Al-Rahwi said al-Qaeda seeks to control Abyan for several reasons, notably its strategic location. Abyan shares a border with Aden and Lahaj provinces to the west and Shabwa and Hadramaut to the east. The province overlooks the coast and is close to international shipping lanes.

Officials vow to prevent al-Qaeda from capturing more cities

Abdo al-Janadi, Yemeni Deputy Minister of Information, said during a press conference Sunday that 300 al-Qaeda members are in the neighbouring province of al-Baida and could target the province and plan to control it.

He said government officials are aware of al-Qaeda's plans and will not allow the organisation to seize additional cities.

Al-Janadi said that during the past two weeks, army soldiers killed 38 al-Qaeda members in Abyan, including Somalis, Saudis, Egyptians, Iranians and Pakistanis.

"The battle with al-Qaeda is a long battle requiring high-level skills and technologies," he said. "The state will fight terrorism with all its capabilities."

However, according to al-Rahwi, al-Baida province is not a new target of al-Qaeda.

"Some elements of the organisation that are taking refuge in al-Baida may be hiding and getting ready before they attack directorates in Abyan, including Modia," he said.

Meanwhile, officials reported that 11 al-Qaeda fighters were killed Monday evening during an artillery attack by the Yemeni army on several sites where the organisation's fighters are holed up in Zinjibar.