SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Interior Ministry says security forces have arrested a leading al Qaeda leader involved in orchestrating abductions of foreigners and looting banks.
The ministry identified the man as Abdel-Rahman Shoueib, aka Abu Musab, saying in a statement Wednesday that he was arrested in Hodeida province. It added that Abu Musab led an attack on a checkpoint that killed two soldiers in April.
In the capital, security officials said that anti-terrorism forces arrested three suspected militants who were allegedly planning an attack. The officials didn’t reveal the nature of the plans but said the three were seized from a hotel in Sanaa. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is seen by Washington as al Qaeda’s most dangerous offshoot.
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