Ally_Kat
03-16-2004, 11:08 PM
8 of 10 escaped Cole bombing suspects recaptured
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 16, 2004, 2:03 PM EST
SAN'A, Yemen -- A year after they broke out of jail, eight of 10 suspects in the 2000 bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole have been recaptured, the government said Tuesday.
Interior Minister Rashad al-Eleimi did not say how or when the eight men were captured, but said authorities were closing in on the two still at large.
The suspects in the October, 2000 bombing broke out of jail in the southern port city of Aden last year, a major embarrassment to the Yemeni government. The bombing in Aden killed 17 American soldiers and has been blamed on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Yemen has allied itself with the U.S. war on terrorism, allowing American forces to train its military. The country, which long has tolerated Muslim extremists, is the ancestral homeland of bin Laden.
According to previous official statements, at least four of the men were caught in a recent crackdown on militants in a southern mountain region that led to the arrest of 28 other suspects.
Al-Eleimi did not disclose the identities of those in custody. Officials in southern Abyan region, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the country's most-wanted man, Jamal al-Badawi, is still at large. He was charged in the United States last year with helping carry out the bombing.
Al-Eleimi made the comments to the weekly Interior Ministry publication Al-Hares. He said the recapture of the eight suspects was the result of increased cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, authorities beefed up security around foreign embassies and government buildings in the capital San'a Tuesday, cordoning off some areas and sending extra security patrols.
A Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the stepped up security was "pre-emptive." He did not elaborate.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 16, 2004, 2:03 PM EST
SAN'A, Yemen -- A year after they broke out of jail, eight of 10 suspects in the 2000 bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole have been recaptured, the government said Tuesday.
Interior Minister Rashad al-Eleimi did not say how or when the eight men were captured, but said authorities were closing in on the two still at large.
The suspects in the October, 2000 bombing broke out of jail in the southern port city of Aden last year, a major embarrassment to the Yemeni government. The bombing in Aden killed 17 American soldiers and has been blamed on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Yemen has allied itself with the U.S. war on terrorism, allowing American forces to train its military. The country, which long has tolerated Muslim extremists, is the ancestral homeland of bin Laden.
According to previous official statements, at least four of the men were caught in a recent crackdown on militants in a southern mountain region that led to the arrest of 28 other suspects.
Al-Eleimi did not disclose the identities of those in custody. Officials in southern Abyan region, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the country's most-wanted man, Jamal al-Badawi, is still at large. He was charged in the United States last year with helping carry out the bombing.
Al-Eleimi made the comments to the weekly Interior Ministry publication Al-Hares. He said the recapture of the eight suspects was the result of increased cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, authorities beefed up security around foreign embassies and government buildings in the capital San'a Tuesday, cordoning off some areas and sending extra security patrols.
A Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the stepped up security was "pre-emptive." He did not elaborate.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.