U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2006 - Yemen

The Republic of Yemen took action against al-Qaida and local extremists, arresting several individuals suspected of having AQ ties, and prosecuting the perpetrators of previous terrorist acts. Yemen also experienced several setbacks to its counterterrorism efforts with the February 3 escape of 23 suspected AQ supporters and the September 15 terrorist attacks on two oil facilities.

On September 15, two coordinated attacks on oil facilities in eastern Yemen resulted in the deaths of all four attackers and one Yemeni security official. A group calling itself al-Qaida in Yemen claimed responsibility. One day after the attack, security forces arrested four individuals on suspicion of links to the attack and for planning attacks in Sanaa on Yemeni government and Canadian Nexen oil company facilities. The investigations into the oil facility and Sanaa attacks continued but no charges were filed.

On February 3, 23 suspected AQ supporters escaped from a maximum security prison in Sanaa. Among the escapees were individuals convicted of participating in the 2000 USS Cole and 2002 M/V Limburg attacks, including the alleged organizer of the Cole attack, Jamal Badawi. On October 1, the U.S.-trained Central Security Force/ Counterterrorism Unit killed two of the most dangerous escapees, Foaz al-Rabi'i and Mohammed al-Dhailami. Rabi'i was sentenced to death, in absentia, in 2004 for his role in the M/V Limburg attack. Rabi'i and Dhailami were alleged to have organized the September oil facility attacks. In total, eight escapees surrendered and security forces killed three.

Yemeni security forces continued to arrest and try suspected members of AQ and other terrorist groups throughout the year. On May 3, a security court convicted Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, alleged to be AQ's number two in Yemen, of financing terrorist groups associated with AQ. Al-Ahdal was sentenced to 37 months in prison, much of which was credited as time served while awaiting trial.

On July 8, the Special Penal Court (SPC) acquitted 19 individuals charged with conspiring to attack U.S. and Yemeni interests. The defendants admitted to traveling to Iraq to "conduct jihad," but the judge ruled that jihad was not illegal under Yemeni law. Also in July, the SPC acquitted 23 other individuals on conspiracy charges relating to traveling to Iraq to attack U.S. forces and found 21 of the defendants guilty on fraudulent document charges. Both cases are currently under appeal. In March, the Sanaa Appellate Court upheld the acquittal of four Iraqis charged with plotting to attack the U.S. and British Embassies in 2003.

In August, the Sanaa Appellate Court returned the case of two individuals accused of plotting to assassinate the U.S. Ambassador in 2004 to a lower court, claiming the judge did not follow correct sentencing procedures. Hizam al-Mass and Khalid al-Halilah were sentenced on March 5 to five years in prison.

Yemen used its Islamic Dialogue Committee, headed by a leading judge, to continue its dialogue with detainees arrested for connections to terrorist groups and extremist elements. The government released detainees it considered rehabilitated after they pledged to uphold the Yemeni constitution and laws, the rights of non-Muslims, and the inviolability of foreign interests. No comprehensive program existed to monitor recidivism rates. An undisclosed number of released detainees from previous years reportedly have traveled to Iraq to participate in attacks against Coalition Forces.

The government's capacity for stemming terrorism financing remained limited. In 2004, the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee designated prominent Yemeni Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani for his association with AQ. The Yemeni government took no action to bar his travel or freeze his assets in compliance with its UN obligations. Throughout the year, President Saleh voiced public support for Zindani and his Al-Iman University.