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Yemen forces kill an al Qaeda leader in raid

Other News Materials 8 August 2007 17:44 (UTC +04:00)

( Reuters ) - Yemeni security forces killed the second most senior leader of al Qaeda's Yemen wing and three other militants on Wednesday, a senior security source said, adding they were involved in an attack on tourists last month.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced earlier the killing of the militants who he said were involved in a bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis last month.

The second most senior member of al Qaeda's wing in Yemen, Qasem al-Raimi, was killed in the raid near the city of Marib about 150 km ( 95 miles) east of the capital Sanaa in the early hours of Wednesday, the senior security source said.

"Raimi was involved in several operations by al Qaeda including the attack on the tourists," the source said, adding that the militant was one of 13 convicted al Qaeda members who escaped from a Sanaa prison in 2006.

Two troops were wounded in the raid, security sources said.

A 21-year-old Yemeni man, Abdou Mohammad Rahiqa, carried out the suicide bombing at the Queen of Sheba Temple in Marib. Yemen has previously said its security forces killed an Egyptian who helped mastermind the attack.

The U.S. embassy in Sanaa has issued a note to American expatriates in the Arabian Peninsula country saying "the terrorist threat in Yemen has evolved" and urging caution.

"We are now experiencing terrorist actions previously unseen in Yemen," it said in reference to the attack on the tourists.

"Western interests may continue to be targeted. This evolving threat is not temporary, and will be with us for the foreseeable future," said a message posted on the embassy's Web site and dated August 6.

Yemen, which joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, has offered a $75,500 reward for information leading to the capture of those behind the attack.

A security source said last week that authorities were looking for nine people suspected of involvement in the attack, including a Saudi citizen.

Al Qaeda issued a statement days before the attack demanding the release of some of its members jailed in Yemen and threatening unspecified action.

Yemen, the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants. It has seen several major bombings.

One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen has been trying to encourage tourists put off by kidnappings and bombings and boost foreign investment as its oil resources dwindle.

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