Sanaa: A self-confessed militant has admitted to carrying out deadly attacks on military targets and oil facilities in Yemen, as four other suspected al Qaeda members went on trial for planning attacks.
Saleh al-Shaoush was arrested on January 30 as he
prepared to carry out a suicide bombing in the southeastern
port of Mukalla. He had been stopped on his motorbike and
found to be wearing an explosives belt and carrying two bombs.
Shaoush admitted in court taking part in seven deadly
attacks in Hadramawt and Marib provinces.
"The acts attributed to me are correct," he said. "I
prepared and carried out these operations voluntarily and
without duress."
The court in Sanaa set Monday as a date for final
deliberations in the case of Shaoush, who faces the death
penalty if convicted.
In a separate hearing, the same court opened proceedings
against four al Qaeda suspects for allegedly planning attacks
on national and foreign targets in Yemen.
According to the chargesheet, they are accused of
attacking police and military installations, murdering
security officials and resisting the armed forces.
The principal suspect, Yahia Dahan, was said to be ill
and did not appear in court. Another defendant, Faraj Hadi,
said in court that Dahan had been tortured.
In another development, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
claimed responsibility for the September ambush of a bus
carrying Yemeni intelligence agents, saying it killed 14
people.
"A mujahedeen brigade in Sanaa attacked a bus of the
political police, which resulted in the death of 14
intelligence officers belonging to the anti-terrorist unit,"
an AQAP statement published on Islamist websites said of the
September 25 incident.
"These officers had just completed an anti-terrorism
course held under the supervision of American officers," it
added.
Bureau Report
