Yemen arrests the lead suspect in a brazen attack on southern intelligence headquarters

Yemen arrests suspect in brazen jailbreak

SAN’A, Yemen — Yemen said Sunday it has arrested the suspected mastermind of the spectacular attack on the southern intelligence headquarters, which freed detainees and left 11 people dead.

The attack Saturday by four gunmen on the heavily protected security complex in the port city of Aden further bolstered U.S. concerns that Yemen’s weak central government may not be up to tackling an increasingly effective foe.

An official statement said the suspect belongs to “terrorist groups” in Yemen and has a criminal record, including a bank robbery last year blamed on al-Qaida.

There was no word on whether any other suspects had been arrested or whether the authorities had recaptured the freed detainees.

The government has yet to comment on the eyewitness accounts of freed detainees.

Yemeni officials said the Saturday attack on the heavily protected security complex in Aden, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said authorities have arrested 18 suspected members of militant groups since the attack. A sedan used in the attack was also found, the official said.

U.S. concerns over Yemen deepened last December, when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.

In the wake of the Christmas attack, with U.S. aid, training and intelligence, Yemen’s military and air force have struck repeatedly at al-Qaida sites and suspected hideouts, and arrested several suspects.

Yemen’s central government is grappling with a number of armed groups aside from al-Qaida, including an increasingly violent southern separatist movement.

On Sunday, gunmen from the southern group ambushed a military convoy, killing two officers in the southern Dali province. It was the latest salvo in an increasingly violent standoff between the government and the southerners, which accuses the north of monopolizing power and discriminating against them.

The ambush is most likely unrelated to al-Qaida attack.