Al-Qaeda leader escapes from prison [Archives:2002/28/Front Page]

A leading member of al-Qaeda in Yemen detained by Yemeni authorities has fled the prison where he is being held, Alwahadawi newspaper reported last week.
The paper added that a detainee of al-Qaeda, arrested following the September 11 attacks, escaped last Saturday from a prison in Aden, which is used for detaining al-Qaeda prisoners originally brought from Sanaa. Sources didnt mention the identity of the escapee, but it said hes a dangerous element originally from the governorate of Shabwa. He has been reportedly arrested after returning from Afghanistan, where he was a field commander of al-Qaeda.
According to some reports, officials in charge of the prison and Adens security officials are currently under interrogation.
President Ali Abdulah Saleh has warned tribal leaders of providing shelter to suspected al-Qaeda elements.
He also warned them of helping kidnappers of foreigners or those blasting oil pipelines, adding that there wont be any leniency towards persons involved in such incidents.
President Saleh also called on al-Qaeda members, Mohammed al-Ahdal and Ali Qaed Senyen al-Harethi, to give themselves in to the authorities. Both men are suspected to be hiding somewhere in Mareb. Yemeni authorities have been hunting down for these two suspects for months now, but to no avail.
Yemen is also keen to deny that its a shelter for Islamist extremists. Western diplomats in Sanaa say that the majority of the Islamic militants in Yemen returned from Afghanistan after the defeat of the former USSR in that middle Asian country.

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