Yemen claims to have foiled al-Qaeda bid to kidnap UAE envoy
SANAA – Yemen's Interior Ministry said Wednesday it had thwarted an attempt by al-Qaeda militants to kidnap United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador Khaled al-Housi.
Speaking at a press conference in Sanaa, the ministry's Brig. Gen. Mohamed al-Qaeidi said six militants – including two affiliated with al-Qaeda – had planned to kidnap the diplomat but that security forces had foiled the attempt based on intelligence.
Yemeni security agencies also nabbed members of a gang that had kidnapped Saudi nationals and threatened Saudi embassy employees, al-Qaeidi added, giving no further details.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries. In March, the government said it had arrested members of a group that used to kidnap foreigners in Sanaa before selling them on to militant groups, including al-Qaeda.
On Wednesday Yemeni Interior Minister Abdo al-Tarab also sacked several senior police officials over security chaos in the capital Sanaa.
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The move was linked to recent security incidents including attempts to assassinate and abduct foreign diplomats, according to the Interior Ministry's media office.
Yemen has remained in a state of relative chaos since the ouster of long-serving president Ali Abdullah Saleh in early 2012 as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings.
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