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Yemen holding 135 people suspected of al-Qaida prison escape
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-16 13:45
Yemeni security forces have arrested more than 135 people who might be able
to shed light on the whereabouts of 23 al-Qaida prisoners who escaped from their
cell more than a week ago, a security official said Wednesday.
Police have received "important information" from the detainees, the official
said without elaborating.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to
speak to the press, said the detentions were carried out by police searching
suspected places and houses of relatives of the fugitives. No clues have been
found yet.
Several prison wardens were suspended and detained after the February 3
escape. They were suspected of passing information and tools to the prisoners
taking part in the escape.
The 23 al-Qaida prisoners, who were kept in the same cell, broke out through
a tunnel 180 meters (yards) long that surfaced in a mosque. The fugitives
include a man convicted of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole destroyer in Aden
harbor and another convicted of the 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg.
Yemeni authorities have rejected a request by the United States to
interrogate the detainees, saying this would violate Yemen's sovereignty, but
have said the Americans were receiving reports from Yemeni security officials on
the results of the interrogations.
Security forces set up checkpoints around the country to search for the
fugitives and authorities have offered a reward of 5 million riyals (US$27,800;
euro23,300) for information leading to the arrest of any of the fugitives.
The US Embassy, in a Web site warden message Tuesday, advised Americans to
review their security practices in light of the escapes. Although it had no
information of an imminent threat, the embassy said, it advised Americans to
avoid large crowds, limit outings and vary travel routines.
Immediately after the escapes, the embassy had restricted non-essential
travel for its officials and recommended Americans avoid traveling to or around
Yemen. Tuesday's warden message said embassy security officials were reviewing
travel to, and within, Yemen on a case-by-case basis.
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