Hundreds of Yemeni forces pursued their hunt for fighters from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network Wednesday in an operation analysts said was part of Sanaa's effort to pre-empt a US strike on Yemen.
"The security forces' hunt for suspected al-Qaeda members is an act of sovereignty and defense of national interests," wrote the official daily Ath-Thawra, one day after 17 people died in a battle in eastern Yemen.
"It is well known by now that failure to fight the sources of terror through Yemen's own resources exposes the country to (external) interventions and targeting that could go beyond political targeting and be more dangerous and destructive," the paper said in an editorial.
"To this extent, chasing the suspects is an act of sovereignty, given that the consequences (of allowing them to roam free) would undermine (Yemen's) sovereignty," it added.
Analysts here said Ath-Thawra's commentary indicated clearly that the security forces' offensive against suspected al-Qaeda members was aimed at averting a US strike on Yemen as part of Washington's war on terror which began in Afghanistan.
The operation was launched in response to "American pressures and demands", revealed by US Ambassador Edmund Hull when he told the 26 September newspaper earlier this month that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's recent visit to Washington produced agreement to boost cooperation in combating terrorism.
Yemen is one of the countries where al-Qaeda elements are present, the envoy said, adding that it was important for Saleh to secure the support of the Yemeni people, political parties and tribes in the anti-terror drive.
"Police and army forces backed by helicopters are still hunting the suspects. It is not easy, these are tribal areas," an interior ministry official told AFP Wednesday, after Washington quietly applauded the Yemeni assault.
A senior tribal source said 13 government troops and four tribesmen died Tuesday when army and police units fired mortars into Al-Hosun village in Marib province, 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital Sanaa, igniting a gun and tank battle.
Another 18 soldiers and seven tribesmen were wounded and taken to Sanaa for treatment, he said.
A military sweep has for the past two weeks taken in the provinces of Marib, Shabwa and Al-Juf, over much of which heavily armed tribes hold sway, in search of three Yemenis believed to be ranking members of al-Qaeda, official sources said.
One of them, known as Bin Thanian, had arrived in Al-Hosun on the night of Monday-Tuesday accompanied by his family and with government troops on his tail, according to a local dignitary.
But he had managed to escape from the village and was on the run in Shabwa, the dignitary said.
The authorities negotiated with the Abeideh tribe, who control the plains village near the town of Marib, to search several houses, tribal sources said.
In Washington, senior State Department officials privately confirmed that Yemen had been provided with a list of "individuals and groups" connected with bin Laden to be moved against.
And the officials said Tuesday's attack was likely related to the wanted list presented to Saleh on November 27 when he met President George W. Bush at the White House.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted that Saleh had "made a strong commitment against terrorism" during his visit to the United States.
"It is clear that he intends to go after terrorism, that he is committed to the fight against terrorism," Boucher said.
"We welcomed that, we offered our support, we offered our cooperation (and) we'll continue to work with them in the overall fight."
The United States suspects bin Laden was also behind the October 2000 blowing up of the US destroyer Cole in Aden, southern Yemen, that killed 17 American sailors. (AFP, Yemen)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
