Yemen asks Saudi to hand over tanker blast suspects [Archives:2003/639/Local News]

Yemen has asked Saudi Arabia to hand over two Yemenis wanted in connection with last year's attack on a French supertanker off the coast of the Arab state, a Yemeni official said on Thursday.
The two are among eight Yemenis that Sanaa has asked Saudi authorities to extradite on suspicion of belonging to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, the official told Reuters.
He gave no further details but a Yemeni government newspaper called September 26 reported on Thursday that the eight were expected to arrive in Yemen “soon”.
Riyadh has already handed over to Sanaa four Yemenis wanted for suspected links to al Qaeda, blamed by Washington for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
It was not clear if the four included any suspects linked to the Limburg attack, also blamed on al Qaeda militants.
The tanker was badly damaged after a boat laden with explosives rammed it off the Gulf of Aden, nearly two years after an attack on the U.S. warship Cole in a Yemeni port killed 17 Americans.
Saudi Arabia has boosted security to hunt down those behind the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh which killed 34 people. It is also cracking down on militancy to prevent further attacks. (Reuters)

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