Yemen searches for two French Al-Qaeda terrorists

Security forces in the southern Yemeni province of Hadhramout are searching for two French nationals linked to Al-Qaeda, who are allegedly responsible for coordinating terrorist attacks against government officials and facilities.

Gulf News reported Major-General Ahmad bin Bourek, the provincial governor, as saying security services suspect the two French militants were hiding somewhere in Hadhramout but said it is unlikely that they will be able to carry out attacks in future. The governor told the Saudi Al Madina newspaper yesterday that eighty per cent of leading Al-Qaeda militants who captured the city of Al-Mukalla, Hadhramout’s capital, and the neighbouring coastal regions last year are now in jail. He also announced that local security forces are now on a mission to find militants who took part in terrorist attacks.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Iran-backed Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh against government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict with millions displaced as a result of the fighting.