80 Islamists Arrested [Archives:2001/01/Front Page]

Eighty foreign students and teachers at a religious institute have been arrested during a crackdown on illegal residents, a security official said Saturday. The official added the measure was aimed at investigating whether their presence in the country was legal.
The authorities have granted a 30-day grace period to foreigners to legalize their presence in the country.
The arrested people are from Arab and South Asian countries, studying and teaching at the Dar al-Hadith Institute in the Abida tribal region.
Abida is located in Mareb, 100 miles to the east of Sana’a, where Yemeni special forces have been searching for members of Osama bin Ladens al-Qaeda network in recent weeks. Heavy fighting on Dec. 18 killed at least 24 soldiers and six tribesmen.
 

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