Armies of Liberation

A France 24 interview with Sadiq al Ahmar is here on Youtube. Sheik AlAhmar on the vid says, “Ali Abdullah Saleh inserted AlQeada, to ’suck milk from the American cow.’ The biggest evidence of this relationship is that of those who escaped from prison in Hadramout, 16 of them have been at villas that belong to the presidential palace in Alsafiyah for more than two weeks.” (A google search says Alsafiyah is a district in Sanaa.)

Gee, it sounds a lot less crazy when Sadiq al Ahmar and Hamoud al Hittar say it, doesn’t it? (For al Hittar, see Al Hittar says Saleh regime pays al Qaeda in Abyan through security chiefs .) My article at PMJ covers the same topic, Yemen’s Theater of the Absurd.

I think I first used the term “false flag attack” to describe Yemeni foreign policy in 2007 and noted the regime deploying Al Qaeda as mercenaries in 2005. I’ve seen nothing that disputes the general premise since. Someone should tell General Mr. Patraeus that Saleh did not miraculously reform after hearing about the “assassination plot.” They probably knew the phone was wired.

Trend: Dozens of armed tribesmen stormed a police station and a central prison in Yemen’s southern province of Lahj early Tuesday, releasing 20 prisoners, security officials said.

Two groups of tribesmen raids the two sites, which share one buliding in Tuban district, and freed 20 prisoners following clashes with guards around the building, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

No casualties have been reported, he added.

One of the guards said they were unable to counter the heavy shootings by the armed tribesmen, who were backed by members of the separatist Southern Movement in Lahj, and finally surrendered.

Lahj, some 337 km northwest of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of the Southern Movement.

SANAA, July 15, 2011

Saleh and Al-Qaeda: Who Empowered Who? BY: Nedhal Moqbel

The current Yemeni scene is full of question marks regarding the country’s present and future. Opponents are still protesting in the North, Southerners are maintaining their call for secession, and violent conflicts dominate the situation of this fragile country. Amidst this dilemma, Al-Qaeda has strongly reemerged and taken over Zinjibar, the capital city of the Southern governorate of Abyan, simultaneously extending its control throughout the entire governorate.

President Saleh did send his intended message to prove right his previous warning. “If I quit, Al-Qaeda could take over,” he once said in response to the mass protests in Taiz and Sanaa. There is no doubt that Saleh is replaying the terrorism card in an attempt to protect his reign. Logically, how could a small number of Al-Qaeda fighters, who came down some Abyan mountains, besiege and defeat two prominent brigades in Abyan (25th Mechanized and Al-Amaliqa)? How could they quickly capture Zinjibar and gain control of the government facilities? How can one believe that an entire government, with huge government troops, could fall into the hands of a few hundred fighters?

On the other hand, one wonders how Southern fighters in Radfan, whose number is much larger that of Al-Qaeda militias, have not been able to defeat only two battalions of government troops there. For several months, these fighters, who came from multiple areas to defend Radfan, could not put an end to their fierce battles with the government forces. These troops have besieged the area, frequently shelled it, and fought with all kinds of weapons.

Therefore, what happened in Abyan was not a real battle but an obvious collusion whose outcome was the handing of the governorate to an armed terrorist group. This collusion reveals close ties and mutual benefits between Saleh’s government and Al-Qaeda, which goes back to the 1990s. Several times, Saleh’s government allowed and eased the escape of a countless number of Al-Qaeda inmates from Yemeni prisons. In 2003, for example, eight of those prisoners involved in the Al-Qaeda Cole operation in Aden escaped, and about twenty-two others followed them later. In 2006, twenty-three Al-Qaeda prisoners fled a Sanaa jail, and much more (around sixty-three inmates) escaped last month from a prison in Mukalla.

Plausibly, Saleh and Al-Qaeda have empowered each other for decades. This group sprang from Saleh’s own Republican Palace to be his fundamental card through which he got more Western support and fought his internal enemies. When the world is angry at him, Saleh would imprison his Al-Qaeda men to calm it down. But when he needs them, the world would wake up to news of their escapes.

One guard was killed during the 8 am prison break by 63 prisoners through a tunnel 35 meters long, some were convicted some never tried, many arrested for traveling to Syria to go the Iraq. From Bakeel.net the info and the names are here.

a) the prison warden was replaced two weeks prior to the escape

b) 12 dangerous al Qaeda transferred in to the Hadramout prison from Sanaa prison prior to the escape (just like Jaber Elbaneh was transferred into Sanaa prison before the 2006 escape)

c) later Wednesday firing heard from jail and strange men wandering the streets with guns asking for water

d) use of a drill (like Sanaa escape 2006, as I noted at the time) (Read on …)

The escape is one part of the state’s plan of generating al Qaeda chaos. There is a high likelihood that the escape was arranged by the head of the security forces like Ahmed, Saleh’s son or one of the nephews. These officials are also the US’s important partners in counter-terror efforts and have been the recipients of millions in counter-terror funding.

The Saleh regime has repeatedly released al Qaeda prisoners over the years often in exchange for support as mercenaries. Individual jihaddis were released to go fight in Saada, but larger scale escapes and releases (like the 109 released in 2009 or the escape in 2006) are a habitual characteristic of the Saleh regime and generally part of a much larger deal. . The international media is uniformly reporting idiotic statements like this from Fox: Wednesday’s escape was the latest sign that Yemen’s months-long upheaval has emboldened Al Qaeda militants to challenge authorities in the country’s nearly lawless south. No, they are not challenging the authorities but working in concert with them.

Yemen Post: 62 Al-Qaeda Prisoners Escape Yemen Prison
At least 62 suspected al-Qaeda prisoners escaped from the central security prison in the southern city of Mukalla Wednesday morning.

One security personnel was killed as well as a prisoner. The security official said that a number of the escaped prisoners were arrested after coming back from Iraq, where they were fighting American forces. This is considered the biggest prison breakout for suspected al-Qaeda suspects.

Opposition forces are blaming senior military officials with close links to President Saleh for allowing and easing the escape of al-Qaeda prisoners to cause chaos in the south and get more US support and prolong the Saleh regime.

This comes at the time where the assistant secretary of state is visiting Yemen. He said the the majority of the escapees had court sentences of over five years in prison on terror charges.

More to come

Sahwa Net- Well-informed sources have accused a high-ranking military commander close to President Ali Abdullah Saleh of plotting to release Al-Qaeda suspects in Hadhramout governorate. (Read on …)

The clufu continues. The following is an excerpt (googlish) of a report from Bakeel.net (of the Bakil tribe) on the prison break and chaos in Zinjibar that includes some statements by former Interior Minister Hussain Arab, who issued the travel docs to al Nashiri in 2000. I think the irony of his statement accusing Saleh of activating al Qaeda is lost on him.

Bakeel.net

And spread by masked gunmen in downtown Zanzibar and streets and government institutions, while the city has been witnessing an exodus of the population. As the region is witnessing violent clashes between insurgents and Brigade 125 in the city of Zanzibar, where the use of various heavy weapons and Alkhvivip. Gunmen stormed the central prison in the city was the release of detainees inside and according to eyewitnesses. The city has the widespread looting on the institutions and government facilities. And accused former Interior Minister Hussein Mohammed Arab regime of President Saleh al-Qaeda support through the “handing over” a number of cities Abyan governorate, which led to a regulation on the control of the reins in Zanzibar. (Read on …)

One escapes. Why don’t the drug dealers or tribesmen ever escape prison?

YP An Al-Qaeda suspect escaped from an Aden hospital, with reports suggesting an unknown group could have infiltrated into the hospital and helped him escape. Amin Al-Sayed was arrested along with four other terrorist suspects last week, and was hospitalized at the BaSuhaib military hospital. Last week, the authorities announced the arrest of almost ten Al-Qaeda suspects in Abyan and Hadramout, amid the continuous hunt for and large-scale operations against AQAP militants, mainly in southern, southeastern and eastern regions.

Yemen Post: A Yemeni court specialized in the cases of terrorism in Hadramout sentenced four suspected Al-Qaeda militants between three to five years in prison. (Read on …)

Jamestown: In January 2009, Nasir al- Wuhayshi (a.k.a Abu Basir) appeared on a video to announce the merger between al-Qaeda branches in Saudi Arabia and Yemen under his command. The new organization was given the name Qaedat al-Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, or al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Wuhayshi was surrounded by three leaders of AQAP, his fellow Yemeni Qasim al-Rimi, who was reportedly killed in an airstrike in January (Yemen Observer, January 16) and the Saudis Said al-Shihri and Mohammed al-Ofi. Each of the four men made a statement about the evolution of their group (Al-Jazeera, January 29, 2009). [1] The leadership of AQAP made it clear that, in addition to targeting the near enemy in Sana’a and Riyadh, it would target Western interests and ultimately the West itself. But before the end of the year, the organization went even further, conducting the most serious terrorist operation to affect the American homeland since 9/11. (Read on …)

Recaptured after a few hours or two days.

Update 2: Ministry of the Interior denies escape occured.

Update: Reportedly recaptured.

Its not the second escape this year but the third. There was another seven in August who escaped jail, in between the 23 in February and this 13.

Sana’a – Thirteen men reportedly suspected of having links to al-Qaeda terrorist activities have escaped from a prison in north- western Yemen, a press report said Saturday.

The report by the Ray News website said the 13 were suspected members of al-Qaeda and that they escaped from a jail in the Hajja province, some 130 kilometres north east of the capital Sana’a. ‘Some of the escapees held Arab nationalities,’ said the report.

Interior Ministry officials confirmed the reported escape, but they told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the jail breakers were were not detained over terror-related charges. Five had been recaptured over the past two days, they added.

The officials said investigations were underway to find out how the detainees managed to escape. The men had been extradited by Saudi authorities after they infiltrated Saudi territory seeking better jobs.

It was the second jailbreak in Yemen this year after 23 al-Qaeda operatives escaped from an intelligence jail in Sana’a on February 3.

The men tunnelled their way out of the high-security intelligence prison. The mass escape embarrassed the Yemeni government and dealt a major blow to its efforts to pursue supporters of al-Qaeda.

Among the February escapees were 13 convicts in the 2000 bombing of the US destroyer USS Cole in the southern Yemeni port of Aden and the bombing of the French oil tanker.

Nine of the escapees have been recaptured or gave themselves up to the authorities, including six convicted in the oil tanker attack.

On September 15, two of the February jail breakers were among four suicide bombers who carried out attacks at two oil facilities in eastern Yemen, according to officials.

© 2006 dpa – Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Also the report fails to mention that of the February escapees, eight of the eleven re-captured were subsequently released based on the personal guarantee of Sheikh Tarek Fadli.

Also of the 23, Fawaz al-Raibee and Mohammed al-Dailami were killed by Yemeni forces late September, two were killed in the thwarted suicide attacks and eight are still in the wind including Jabeer Elbanegh and Jamal Badawi. (Read on …)

23 escape, 9 returned to prison, 8 released, and two surrender, giving us a total of 3 of 23 in jail. YT:

After more than a month, tribal mediation between security authorities and two Yemeni Al-Qaeda members ended last week as the two surrendered themselves to security authorities in Sana’a.

Sources in Sana’a said Sheikh Hadi Dalqam handed over the two brothers, Arif and Hizam Majaly, to security authorities at the end of last week. The two were among 23 Al-Qaeda members who escaped from Political Security Prison in Sana’a in February. (Read on …)

IHT:

If this were a one-time problem, it might not be such a big deal. But the failure to quickly share information about terrorists with global law enforcement is systemic and is likely to continue until legislators, governments and the United Nations are convinced to change things. Interpol believes that persuasive evidence to force such action already exists.

Let’s start with the most recent prior example. Last month, seven alleged terrorists suspected of having links to Al Qaeda escaped from a prison in Saudi Arabia, yet Saudi officials never got the word out to global authorities. A worldwide alert for their apprehension could have been put out immediately through Interpol’s secure global communication system.

Instead, we learned of the escape through the news media days after it occurred, and had to contact Saudi Arabia seeking the names, photos and fingerprints of the escapees. Consequently, the suspects got an unacceptable head start, have not been reported caught by the Saudis, and could now be just about anywhere in the world plotting deadly attacks.

Similarly, in February, 23 convicted prisoners (including 13 Qaeda terrorists) escaped from a prison in Yemen. Once again the international police community had to learn about the prison break through open sources. Days elapsed before we received the names and photographs of the escapees, and we still don’t have any fingerprints.

Ronald K. Noble is the secretary general of Interpol.

IOL N° 526

Nephew of president Ali Abdallah Saleh, 37-year-old Omar Saleh al Ahmar is the rising star of the fight against terrorism in Yemen. From the same generation as the son of the president, Ahmed Saleh, with whom he is very close, al Ahmar set up a new service, the National Security department, in 2003. It took on special importance following the escape of 24 Al Qaeda militants from prison in Sanaa in February. Irate, the Americans lost confidence in general Ghaleb al Qimch, who headed the Political Security department (IOL 522) and put their money instead on Saleh. Speaking perfect English, Saleh has cultivated close ties with the local CIA and FBI offices. Born in the village of Al Ahmar, which is also the birthplace of the president, Saleh graduated from the Sanaa military college. He then joined the Republican Guard before moving over to special forces units commanded by his cousin, Ahmed, in 2002.

I thought it was 23 escapees, and is al-Ahmar the name of Saleh’s village?

IOL N° 522

The powerful boss of Yemen’s Political Security Agency, general Ghaleb al Qimch, has managed to retain his post even through the central prison from which 23 Islamic radicals escaped on Feb. 3 falls under his authority. But Yemen president Ali Abdallah Saleh fired the director of political security for the Sanaa region, general Said Alewa, while the number three man in the Political Security agency was also dismissed along with dozens of lesser officials.

Alewa was replaced by general Sadiq al Mutawakkil and the no. three man was succeeded by general Riad Ali Al Ahmar. As for Al Qimch, he probably owed his political survival to his close relationship with the president’s son, colonel Ahmed Saleh, and the tight ties he established with the CIA and FBI since 2002 when he successfully carried through investigations into the attack against the U.S. destroyer USS Cole and the French tanker Limburg.

Saleh felt forced to act against the others because of strong protests by the Americans after the jail break-out, and particularly by ambassador Thomas Krajeski, who sent a letter to the Yemeni foreign ministry denouncing what he saw as complicity between certain anti-terrorist officers and the Islamic radicals. The Americans weren’t happy, either, that four of the fugitives who finally gave themselves up did so after a lot of haggling with tribal chiefs. However, Saleh intends to stand for re-election in the presidential election in September and has to tread carefully with the Islamists.

To smooth matters over with the Americans he sent his armed forces chief-of-staff, gen. Mohamed Ali Al Qassimi to Washington in mid-March. Al Quassimi managed to extract a promise from the U.S. to raise Washington’s allocation for the training of Yemeni coast guards and special forces from $20 million annually to $23 million.

Well that’s spiffy. To update the IOL article a bit, eight of the nine who turned themselves in were then re-released:

SANAA, Yemen, June 2 (UPI) — Yemen has released eight al-Qaida prisoners who surrendered to the police after they escaped with 15 others from the central intelligence prison in February.

Opposition daily al-Thawra quoted an informed source as saying Friday that the inmates were released 15 days after they turned themselves in to the authorities upon the personal guarantee of Sheikh Tarek Fadli, a former senior official of the ruling General Congress Party and the founder of a key Islamic group in Yemen.

The release was based on the fact that no court rulings were issued against the prisoners, due to lack of evidence of their involvement in terrorist attacks.

Also see NewsYemen.

Update: They keep their retirement benefits.

UPI: SANAA, Yemen, July 14 (UPI) — Twelve security agents at Sanaa’s central prison were sentenced to terms behind bars for negligence that facilitated the escape of al-Qaida prisoners. The defense ministry said on its Web site Friday that a special military court also ordered the suspension from work of the intelligence members who were in charge of security at the prison from which 23 al-Qaida convicts escaped last February.

The ministry did not reveal where and when the trial of the security members took place but said all defendants were found guilty of the crime of facilitating the escape of the prisoners, including convicts in the bombings of USS Cole and French tanker Limburg. Sentences varied between three years and eight months prison terms in addition to immediate suspension from work. But the court upheld the defendants’ right to retirement pensions.

The ministry said the trial took place according to the military criminal law and the by-laws of the political security agency, or intelligence, and that the accused were defended by private lawyers. Among the 23 al-Qaida escapees, 13 were convicted in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, including the attack mastermind Jamal Badawi.

Official sources said the authorities recaptured nine of the fugitives, including six who were convicted in the bombing of the Limburg. But none of the convicts in the USS Cole attack have been seized.

Just to clarify, recaptured nine and re-released eight based on the guarentee of Fadhil

The Kuwait Times dedscribes them as warders.

YM: A Yemen military court ordered imprisonment of 12 intelligence officers and terminating their service for having facilitated the escape of the 23 Al Qaeda suspects from the Sana’a intelligence prison last February.

“The primary military court sentenced Wednesday 12 individuals of the Political Security Organization (PSO) to prison terms ranging from 3 years to eight months and terminating their military services for being convicted of negligence in performing their duties the matter which facilitated the escape of the 23 of the most dangerous Al Qaed elements,” the Defense Ministry website (www.26sep.net) quoted a military official as saying on Friday.

AFP: The military court found the officers guilty of “failures of duty that facilitated the escape of dangerous prisoners” and also dismissed them from their jobs in Wednesday’s verdict, the armed forces’ newspaper’s Septembernet website said.

The escape of the 23 suspected militants from a prison in the capital down a 44-metre (145-foot) tunnel to a nearby mosque was a huge embarrassment for the government of veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh in its relations with the United States….”This was a real blow, a real setback to what had been a very successful and productive partnership (between the two governments) against terrorism in Yemen,” US ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski told AFP in April.

Report denied: (UPI) — A security source denied Thursday the reported capture of runaway al-Qaida leader in Yemen, Jamal Badawi. The source said in a statement published Thursday in official newspapers that the news about recapturing Badawi, who had escaped from Sanaa’s main prison with 22 other al-Qaida members last February, are untrue. “In case Badawi is captured, this will be announced officially because there is no reason to hide it,” the source said.

SANAA, Yemen, July 5 (UPI) — Security forces seized runaway al-Qaida leader in Yemen, Jamal Badawi, who had escaped from Sanaa’s main prison with 22 other members of the terrorist group.

The opposition Yemen’s Children League Party quoted security sources in the southeastern province of Hadramout as saying security forces captured Badawi in the area five days ago before he was transferred to Sanaa amid strict security measures. The party said on its Web site Wednesday that the official authorities are keeping silent about the operation for security reasons.

The sources refused to give details about the operation which they described as an intelligence maneuver, noting that security agents intercepted and monitored Badawi, who was found hiding in a house in Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout.

There was no information about a possible intelligence contribution by the United States in tracing Badawi, the main convict in the bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden in October 2000.

Washington has offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of Badawi, regarded as one of the most dangerous al-Qaida operatives in Yemen and the mastermind of most terrorist attacks against foreign interests in the poor Arab Gulf country.

Badawi was also the mastermind of two escapes by al-Qaida prisoners in Aden in 2003 and last February’s mass flight of 23 terror suspects and convicts from the central intelligence prison in Sanaa, which sparked U.S. accusations against Yemen and a large controversy about the extent of al-Qaida’s infiltration of Yemeni security agencies.

U.S. intelligence reports suggested recently that Badawi might lead al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq, succeeding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after he was killed in a U.S. air raid near Baghdad last month. In September 2005, a special criminal court sentenced Badawi to death, but an appeal court reduced the sentence to 15 years in prison.

23 escaped, 7 turned themselves in, 2 were re-captured, 8 re-released, leaving 1 in jail and 22 out

answer to my email to a pal on the re-release

What evidence do we have that suggests that these people are so significant? Maybe the ninth guy didn’t pay enough, or drew the short straw, or swapped places with his house-keeper’s nephew from Somalia.

Who knows? There is nothing to believe. There is no truth, no publicly-verifiable trail, substance or transparency. And if there was, it would be false. The workings of the dark shadows are just that: smoke, mirrors, shadow plays and – one suspects – volumes of nitrous oxide. One hears such wheezing and giggling from the mafraji.

Who or what is Al-Qaeda? An army, a movement, a sentiment, an intention, a principle or a real handful of murderous desperadoes? Is a response to a response? Al-Quaeda seems like a projection. There is heat, but little substance, and the intensity of the image depends on proximity to the source(s).

Just because someone volunteered and went to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq and received training at some stage does not make them Al-Qaeda. What about an acceptance of radicalised islamism? Over in Sana’a most guys attend mosques where the imams preach a radicalised islam that is stiff with anti-western sentiments and occasional calls to jihad. Most accept this politicised distraction from their own internal national and community woes, some don’t like it at all. The regime must think it just fine that folks are encouraged to vilify the great satan, after all, they would not tolerate an imam that preached revolution or pointed out the shortcomings of the ruling elite.

As for the escapees, their recapture and subsequent re-release. … The jailbreak is a grand joke, the imam famous, the mosque gleefully pointed out to passing foreigners. This is a country in which poetry is used as a political weapon, in which satire and humour, culture and language are central weapons in the political armoury. There’s also plenty of evidence to show poachers turned gamekeepers.

otay, 23 escape, 7 surrender, 2 are recaptured: of the nine back in custody, eight are released becasue they are not guilty. a) so what were they doing in jail inthe first place b) did a court determine their innocence

NewsYemen was informed that eight of al-Qaeda associates, who surrendered after escaping from a high security prison in Sana’a last February, have been released after that, except the suspect Ahmad al-Raimi, who is described as “the most dangerous”.
Special sources said the suspects have been released after re-imprisonment for 15 days under the pretext they are not guilty and no evidence proves their involvement in terror acts.
On the other hand, the Sana’a Penal Court will resume next Saturday the trial of 23-member group accused of counterfeiting official documents, identity cards and personal information.
Yemen News Agency Saba said that the Criminal Prosecution would offer accusations
against 20 suspected of forging identity cards, voting cards and passports.
It said that other three suspects are suspected of hiding wanted people over the USS Cole bomb and falsifying Yemeni nationality cards for non-Yemenis.
The Prosecution told 26Sept.net, an official website, that 315 of al-Qaeda have been recently released due to too little evidence against them.
He pointed that 12 security personnel are being tried before a military court over the February escape of 23 al-Qaeda convicted, most of them are still at large.

Great, just great. Just when theres some kind of plan for the development of the port of Aden, Yemen gets re-risked into the red zone, increasing insurance rates dramatically. Yemen had been taken off the list last June and its back on again.

Lloyds of London maritime insurers, say Yemen is an “enhanced risk,” because of the escape:

In Yemen, inclusion on the “enhanced risks” list was prompted by the escape from jail in February by 22 suspected or convicted al-Qaeda members, some of whom where involved in the attacks on the Limburg and the USS Cole.

In 2002 an explosive-laden dinghy rammed the Limburg, a tanker carrying 397,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran to Malaysia. She caught fire and leaked 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden, running up a $45 million damage bill. One of the tanker’s crew was killed and 12 others were injured.

Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. The mastermind of the assault was believed also to be responsible for the bombing in 2000 of the USS Cole, an American warship, in Aden. The suicide-dinghy attack killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 others.

Which means higher insurance costs,

Mr Washbourn estimated that a large container ship worth $75 million (£40 million)would pay about 0.02 per cent of its worth, or $15,000, for an annual insurance policy, which would cover the vessel to make unlimited visits to the world’s safe ports for 12 months. However, the ship would have to pay the same amount for every single visit that it made to a port on the “enhanced risks” list, he said.

Gee I hope Saleh’s negotiations with the escapees go well and he can convince them to come back soon. I guess it makes sense on the part of Lloyds, which insures ships, to raise the risk level assessment now that the same people who previously blew up two ships inYemen are back on the loose again.

(Read on …)

14 to go.

SANA’A – Another member of Al-Qaeda who was among 23 convicts escaped from a prison in Sana’a in February was arrested by security forces, officials said Thursday morning.

Abdullah Al-Raimi, described by official media as one of the most dangerous fugitives, was reportedly arrested in Marib, an eastern trial province.

Detained in a Political Security (intelligence)’s detention, he was sentenced by a Yemeni court for four years for involvement in terrorist acts.

The 23 prisoners escaped on February 3 through a 40-metre tunnel that ended inside a neighbouring mosque.

Among those at large is a militant convicted in the 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole in the harbour at Aden. Al-Raimi is the ninth escapee to recapture. Some of the escapees gave themselves in to the authorities. The last was Khaled Mohammed Abdullah Batati who turned himself late April.

Arrested in a crackdown last year, Batati was sentenced by a Yemeni court to three years in prison in May 2005 in connection with a plot to attack the British and Italian embassies and the French cultural center in Sana’a.

Meanwhile, The trial of the Political Security prison governors over al-Qaeda jailbreak started last week, according to well-placed sources.
The sources added that there are new high-level orders for sending those responsible of the jail in the time of the escape of 23 al-Qaeda prisoners to a military tribunal for trying them. They are expected to face charges of “inadequate conduct”.

After their escape on February 3, police distributed fugitives’ photographs to all checkpoints and intelligence agents throughout Yemen. Additionally, the Interior Ministry had announced a bounty of YR 5 million ($25,600) for information that may lead to the arrest of the fugitives.

The prisoners escaped through a 180-yard tunnel that ended inside a mosque. Tribal leaders and Muslim clerics were negotiating the surrender of the remaining escapees, the security official said.

Slowly they trickle in, so thats 16 still in negotiations?

SANAA, Yemen, April 18 (UPI) — A seventh al-Qaida runaway from the 23 prisoners who fled the central intelligence prison in Sanaa February has surrendered to Yemeni authorities.

Daily al-Rai quoted a security source as saying Tuesday that “the seventh runaway al-Qaida member surrendered Monday in an operation that appears to have been preceded by negotiations.”

The source said security forces raided an apartment in a neighborhood south of Sanaa where they seized Zakaria Yafii, who made no attempt to resist arrest. He was taken back to the central intelligence prison which he fled 75 days ago in an operation still shrouded in mystery and suspicion.

The source said the police had been tipped off with regard to Yafii’s whereabouts and that the information was checked by intelligence agents before they carried out the operation and forced the man to surrender.

Yafii’s surrender is believed to have been the result of negotiations between the intelligence service and tribal leaders, as were previous deals that led to the surrender of six other runaway prisoners.

Yafii was among 23 inmates who managed to flee through a tunnel dug between a cell and a nearby mosque located outside the prison’s fence Feb. 3. He is one of six suspects who were waiting to be tried on charges of belonging to al-Qaida and planning terrorist attacks against foreign interests in Yemen.

The runaway prisoners described as “dangerous” included convicts in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden in which 17 U.S. servicemen were killed. Their escape caused tensions in U.S.-Yemeni relations as Washington suspected the complicity of high intelligence officials.

from Buffalo News, New York

Five years ago, people in Lackawanna knew Jaber A. Elbaneh as a humble man who quietly toiled at a cheese factory and was deeply devoted to his family and his Muslim religion. Today, his name is circulated all over the globe by FBI agents who call him a prison escapee and a dangerous associate of al-Qaida, the world’s most feared terrorist group.

The State Department displays his picture with that of Osama bin Laden on a wanted poster for its 26 “Most Wanted Terrorists.” The department is offering a reward up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. The reward is among the largest ever offered for the arrest of an American citizen in a terrorism investigation.

“These people committed terrorist acts resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people,” the State Department poster reads. “These acts include attacks on embassies, hijacking of airlines and their destruction, the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other incidents.” Those words are upsetting to Elbaneh’s family because he has never been criminally charged with anything beyond attending a terrorist training camp. But Buffalo FBI agents say Elbaneh, 39, was the right-hand man to the late al-Qaida operative Kamal Derwish. They believe Derwish, another former Lackawanna resident, was on a mission to recruit U.S. citizens to become suicide terrorists. (Read on …)