Escaped al-Qaeda killed in Abyan
An al-Qaeda member who escaped from a Yemeni prison in a mass jailbreak last year has been killed in a shootout with government forces, Yemen’s government has said.
Yasser Nasser al-Homaiqani was killed after government forces tracked him down in southern Yemen, a ministry official told Saba, the state news agency, on Monday.
Two officers from the security services were also killed in the shoot-out in Abyan, a poor and mountainous southern province of Yemen, the government said.
Homeiqani was among a group of 23 militants who tunnelled out of a Sanaa jail in February 2006. At least 16 of the escapees have been killed or arrested, or have surrendered to authorities. It is believed that seven fugitives are still on the run.
The escaped prisoners included the leaders of the 2000 bombing of the US warship Cole and the 2002 attack on the French supertanker Limburg. The jailbreak embarrassed Yemen’s government, which is battling Islamist militants, and raised questions about Yemen’s security force, many of whom are believed to sympathise with al-Qaeda’s ideology.
Security forces killed an alleged al-Qaeda operative in a firefight at a marketplace in northern Yemen, police officials said Monday. Officials said the suspect, identified as Yassir Nassir al-Humaiqani, was killed in a shootout with policemen in the southern province of Abyan on Sunday.
Humaiqani was among 23 suspected operatives of the al-Qaeda terrrorist network who escaped from a tunnel dug from a high-security jail in Sanaa on February 3, 2006. The officials, who asked anonymity told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that al-Humaiqani, reportedly masked and armed with a semi- automatic weapon and hand grenades, exchanged fire with policemen who tried to stop him.
Humaiqani was the third escapee to be killed by security forces since the mass jail break that embarrassed the Yemeni government and dealt a major blow to its efforts to pursue supporters of al-Qaeda.
The escapees also included 13 terrorists convicted in the 2000 bombing of the US destroyer USS Cole in port city of Aden and the bombing of the French oil supertanker Limburg in 2002.
In last October, security forces killed two of the jail breakers, Fawaz al-Rabyee and Muhammad al-Dailami, during two raids in a village north of the capital Sana’a
Two of the escapees were among four suicide bombers who carried out attacks at two oil facilities in eastern Yemen in last September.
Nine of the escapees have been recaptured or given themselves up to the authorities, including six convicted in the Limburg attack.
© 2007 DPA
A random check of identity cards sparks shoot-out
: The escapee Yaser Al-Humaikani gunned down today in Abian
Monday 15 January 2007, 26 Septemper NewsYaser Al-Humaikani one of the escapee from political security gunned down today in a confrontation with Abian security apparatus. The source told “6sep.net”,after the security apparatuses follow up the wanted escapees from political security, they managed to arrest one of those suspected while veiling his face and carrying a gun, he was stopped by police to show his identity card but he refused and started shot and threw a grenade on police men, lead to two injured and Yaser al-humaikani.
The source clarified that security apparatuses will continue chasing terrorist and escapees
Ministry of Interior warns those who will help the escapees and protect them, unless they will be accomplices in such crimes and attacks on oil establishments
Wanted terrorist: Interior ministry
Tuesday, 16-January-2007
almotamar.net – SANAA- The interior ministry announced Monday that its security men were able Monday to kill Yasser Nasser al-Humaiqani, one of the elements that escaped from the political security prison after pursuing him in one of the districts of Abyan governorate. He was one of the wanted for participation in planning for terrorist acts.An interior ministry source states that security apparatuses observed al-Humaiqani at 11: oo am Monday morning in the district of Sabah in Abyan as part of their hunting down the escapees from the political security prison.
The Yemeni news agency quoted the source as saying security men suspected an armed person covering his face and after stopping him to check his identity he initiated in firing at the security men and threw a hand grenade at them and that forced them to open fire and hit him seriously. The incident resulted in injury of two security officers as well.
The source added the security men found out the wanted escapee possessed a machine gun, two hand grenades, forged identity cards and a bag containing woman clothes. He added the security apparatuses will continue those terrorist elements that had committed crimes against the country unless they surrender themselves to justice authorities according to the law.
YO also reporting.
