Yemen Arrests al-Qaida Suspect Among Six Somalis

Officials in Yemen say six Somalis have been arrested, including one suspected of having links with al-Qaida.

Officials say the men were arrested Thursday during a security raid more than 300 kilometers south of the capital, Sana'a.

The officials did not say what led to the arrests, or what the other suspects are accused of.

Yemen has attracted thousands of Somalis who cross the Gulf of Aden illegally to flee fighting at home.

A senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, Michael Leiter, said last month that Yemen is emerging as a potential new regional base for the al-Qaida terrorist network.

The country is the ancestral home of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden.

The United States says al-Qaida has links with the Somali Islamist group, al-Shabab. The group, along with other Islamic allies, has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's United Nations-backed government.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.