Yemeni court jails US national for links with al Qaeda

Sanaa: A Yemeni court in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday sentenced a US national to 10 years in prison for having links with Al Qaeda and killing a Yemeni security officer, a judicial source said.

"The security court sentenced US citizen Sharif Mobley to 10 years in prison after he was convicted to have ink links with Al Qaeda, and to pay blood money for killing a security guard," said the source.

The source said Mobley trial was held in high-level security measures, Xinhua reported.

In 2010, Mobley traveled along with his wife and a baby daughter to Sanaa to study Arabic language, but later was arrested by Yemeni security forces for alleged suspicion of having links to Al Qaeda.

In May 2010, Mobley was brought from the intelligence prison to a hospital for treatment, where he attempted to escape by shooting his way out of the hospital, killing one guard.

Mobley was also charged with injuring another guard when he snatched a weapon from one of the guards and opened fire at them to flee.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al Qaeda insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State.