Yemeni security forces fought a gunbattle today with suspected members of al Qaeda holed up in a building in the southern port of al-Mukalla, a security official said.
The al-Qaeda suspects are believed to have taken part in the October 6th attack on the French oil tanker Limburg, which killed a crew member.
Police approached the three-story residential building after being tipped off that al-Qaeda members lived there, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A gun fight ensued and at least three people were injured. The casualties were not identified.
Security forces cordoned off the building and set up checkpoints in the city, about 350 miles southeast of the capital, San'a, the official said.
A medical source at al-Mukalla's Ibn Sina hospital confirmed three men had been admitted with wounds from the shootout.
The attack on the Limburg was carried out by an explosives-packed boat that was detonated next to the tanker's hull. The damaged tanker discharged about 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.
A similar attack on the destroyer USS Cole, in which 17 U.S. sailors were killed, was also blamed on al-Qaeda, the terror group blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has Yemeni origins.
Another Yemeni government official said Friday that authorities were expected to charge 10 people on Limburg attack.
A French security team is in Yemen investigating the attack, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
AFP