Security developments in Yemen

February 11, 2011 8:51:05 AM

YEMEN-SECURITY/(FACTBOX)

Reuters World Service

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Yemen is trying to quell a resurgent wing of al Qaeda which has stepped up attacks on Western and regional targets in the poor Arabian Peninsula state, a neighbour of oil giant Saudi Arabia.

The cash-strapped government is also trying to cement a truce with Shi'ite rebels to end a civil war in the north at the same time as working to subdue a separatist rebellion in the south. Yemenis have also protested against the government.

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Following are security developments in Yemen in the past month (* denotes new or updated item):


*HABILAYN, Feb 10 - Armed men kidnap two Yemeni soldiers in the flashpoint southern city of Habilayn, a local official says. He says the kidnappers are demanding the army end its siege of nearby Radfan.

HABILAYN, Feb 9 - Armed men ambush an army vehicle and steal $13,000 of army salaries en route to a military base in Habilayn, a local official said. It is the second armed theft of a government vehicle in under a month.

SANAA, Feb 6 - One passerby was killed and three were wounded when armed men attacked the Sanaa governer's home on Saturday, the Defence Ministry online newspaper 26 September said. The governor is unharmed, the attack is linked to a tribal feud between the governor and a man from a rival tribe.

DUBAI, Feb 1 - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) issues an Internet video showing militants interrogating a Saada province security official kidnapped in August, Coloned Ali a-Husam. He was killed after he admitted spying on al Qaeda and arresting militants, it said.

HABILAYN, Jan 31 - A Yemeni woman in Habilayn is wounded by a rocket propelled grenade, a security official says.

RADFAN, Jan 30 - A retired Yemeni soldier dies while trying to plant a landmine near a military base in south Yemen. Security officials say he blew himself up, other media reports say he is fired on by soldiers while trying to plant the bomb.

HABILAYN, JAN 30 - A group of armed men kidnap two Yemeni soldiers driving to the capital Sanaa, a local security official says.

MARIB, Jan 29 - A group of armed men attack a police vehicle, killing one and injuring four, a local official says, adding that the group is believed to belong to AQAP.

DUBAI, Jan 29 - The deputy leader of AQAP urges Sunnis in Yemen to take up arms against Shi'ite Houthis, saying they are a danger to Sunnis and urging them to take up arms to protect themselves, according to SITE Intelligence Group.

JAWF, Jan 26 - A small group of armed tribesmen attack and wound the deputy governor of al-Jawf province, a tribal leader and two others as they drive to capital Sanaa, a security source says, citing tribal conflict as the motive behind the raid.
HADRAMOUT, Jan 26 - Gunmen kill four Yemeni soldiers and one postal official as they ambush an army-escorted postal truck. The men, suspected of being from a local al Qaeda unit, escape with $50,000.

LAWDAR, Jan 25 - Yemen security forces arrest five men after they try to attack a police patrol car in Lawdar, a city in the flashpoint Abyan province, the Interior Ministry says, citing suspicions they have ties to "terrorist elements." The defence ministry website says one of the detained men, Amin al-Mukasar, is a leader of al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing.

MAARIB, Jan 25 - The deputy head of forensics in the central province of Ma'arib dies from gunshot wounds on Tuesday, a day after being attacked by militants who escaped, the interior ministry says.

ADEN, Jan 23 - Police shoot dead a protester in southern Aden, a regular site of separatist unrest.

LAWDAR, Jan 23 - A suspected al Qaeda gunman shoots dead a soldier in Lawdar, a district in the southern province of Abyan, a local security official says.

ADEN, Jan 11 - Gunmen attack a vehicle carrying a military commander and wound him in the southern province of Lahj.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mokhashaf in Aden, and Mohammed Ghobari and Mohamed Sudam in Sanaa; Compiled by Gulf bureau)