SANAA — Yemen has arrested six Somalis, one suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda, the interior ministry announced on Thursday.

The arrests took place in Mokha, in the Red Sea province of Taez, a couple hundred kilometres (miles) from the Somali coast, a statement said.

One of the men, Nur Omar Warsamah, is suspected of ties to Al-Qaeda, and a computer and rubber stamps from a charitable organisation in Mogadishu were seized at his home.

The statement did not say what led to the arrests, but authorities frequently round up refugees from Somalia to interrogate them.

Yemen has also attracted hundreds of thousands of Somalis seeking security and a better life after fleeing a country torn by fighting between government forces and an Islamist insurgency.

Al-Qaeda has suffered setbacks due to US pressure but its presence in Yemen threatens to turn that country into a dangerous base for training and plotting attacks, a top US counterterrorism official said last month.

Among the concerns are Al-Qaeda’s links with hardline Somali Islamist group Shebab, which has attracted hundreds of recruits from around the world, said Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

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Source: AFP

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