Al-Qaeda member arrested

SANA'A, Aug. 28 (Saba) - The security services have
arrested an al-Qaeda member near al-Baidha'a governorate northern Abyan governorate,
well-informed
sources said on Saturday.
The Defense Ministry website quoted the sources as saying that the man arrested on
Friday was one of the al-Qaeda members who have fled from Lawdar city of Abyan
after confrontations
with armed forces last week.
According to security sources in Abyan province, the security services have
arrested an al-Qaeda member in possession of an explosive belt.
The sources added that the 25-year-old terrorist Jihad Abdallah al-Faqir was
arrested while on his way in a car to Lawdar district.
The sources noted that the preliminary information indicated that the terrorist
confessed that a leading al-Qaeda figure named Ali Alwi al-Saqqaf assigned him to
carry out
a suicide attack.
The security forces countered last Tuesday the terrorist elements in Abyan, Lawdar
city and killed 12 of them and injured others, affirming that they have cleared
Lawdar
city fully from the terrorists and are currently pursuing the rest of the fugitive
elements out of the city.
A number of al-Qaeda elements began to surrender after cracking down on them by the
security agencies.
Interior Ministry has urged its security forces to lift vigilance and tighten
security measures to counter any terrorist and criminal acts.
The Ministry directed its personnel to take tough security measures against
terrorist and criminal elements in some provinces of the country where terrorist
elements are
expected to carry out sabotage acts there.
These directions were renewed one day after fierce clashes took place in Abyan
between government soldiers and al-Qaeda members, killing 11 soldiers and 7
al-Qaeda members.
The Ministry said that massive hunt-down operations are underway to arrest the
perpetrators and present them to justice, emphasizing the need to strengthen the
security
measures for protecting vital facilities and security and military institutions.
AF/AF