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One of the â€œAl-Qaedaâ€ leaders Saeed al-Shehri captured in Yemen

19 January 2010 11:09 (UTC +04:00)

Yemen-APA. A car carrying members of al-Qaeda was turned over when attempted to bypass a newly established sudden checkpoint by the Yemeni security units today and resulted in the capture of Saeed al-Shehri, the second person in command of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, security source told the Yemen Observer, APA reports.
The car was going in a high speed and was carrying al-Shehri and other al-Qaeda militants and flipped over in the district of Sylan in Shabwah near the borders of Marib province. All the militants were captured.
Al-Shehri was held in extrajudicial detention in American custody for around six years. After his repatriation to Saudi custody he went through a rehabilitation and reintegration program. After his release, he traveled to Yemen. He has since been identified as a deputy leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was involved in the kidnappings and murders of foreigners in Yemen.
Al-Shehri in 2008 was appointed as the vice-Amir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after the integration of al-Qaeda in Yemen and Saudia Arabiaat the end of 2008.
Yesterday, security authorities arrested three al-Qeada militants in al-Jawf who were in disguise wearing military uniforms. Six other al-Qaeda terrorists were killed on Friday by an air strike. The killed militants were identified as Qassim al-Rimi, Amar Obad al-Wayly, Saleh al-Tais, Aidh Jaber al-Shabwani, Abdullah Hadi al-Tais, and Abu Ayman al-Mesri (Egyptian). Two more terrorists escaped after their two cars were completely destroyed; security forces are currently hunting them down.
War against al-Qaeda will never stop until they are eradicated or after they surrender themselves and their weapons, the government said Saturday in an official statement.
The war the government is launching against al-Qaeda is not a war on behalf of any other country, but to defend its supreme interests, the statement read.