At least two Saudis - from the Kingdom's list of 85 terror suspects - were killed in military operations by Yemeni security forces in Abyan on Thursday, according to the Governor of Yemen's Abyan Governorate, Ahmad Al-Miseri. The land and air raids killed at least 34 Al-Qaeda militants said Al-Miseri, speaking by phone from Zinjibar, a coastal town in south-central Yemen and the capital of the Abyan Governorate. Two other listed Saudi terror suspects escaped along with others from the Lodore Hospital, in the north-central Abyan Governorate. The injured men escaped after being freed by other Al-Qaeda members who raided the hospital. These Al-Qaeda members had earlier survived the raids by the Yemeni forces and included Saudis, one Emirati and a Pakistani, said Al-Miseri. The raid of Al-Qaeda on the hospital to free its members was an indication of how important they were for the terror network, said Al-Miseri. “The two are key leaders in the network,” he added. The governor said that they found Saudi and United Arab Emirate (UAE) banknotes on the two dead Saudi militants, Al-Qaeda contacts, communication devices, and a list what a terror network would need, including knives, tapes and batteries. Ibrahim Al-Najdi, a suspected Saudi militant, was reportedly killed in the military operations. Al-Najdi was found dead with a letter in his pocket and a Saudi national ID card for a man named Muhammad Bin Muhammad Rajeh Al-Thara'an, Yemeni daily Al-Gomhoriah reported Saturday. Unconfirmed reports indicate the arrest of another Saudi Al-Qaeda militant in Abyan. Yemeni security forces said that they arrested four suspected Al-Qaeda militants who were unable to flee from the hospital Friday. The four were identified as Abdullah Salem Ali, 30; Haidara Salem Ali, 27; Muhammad Ali Salem, 30; and Abdulrahman Muhammad Qaed, 30. Yemeni forces are now fighting what they described as the “axis of evil” in Mareb, Jouf, and Shabwah, including sporadic conflicts in the northern and southern governorates of Yemen. Security has been beefed up around exit and entry points to troubled areas, including around embassies, foreign companies, and government offices, sources said. Yemeni security forces have arrested more than 30 Al-Qaeda suspects during an offensive launched earlier this week against the terror network, the defense ministry said. The ministry, on its website, said 29 suspects were rounded up in the suburbs of Sana'a and four others were held in Aden, southern Yemen. At least three Yemeni soldiers were injured when their patrol vehicle was attacked with portable rocket-propelled grenades by Al-Qaeda militants led by Ali Alawi Yahmur in Lodore. Two Yemeni citizens were also injured in the attack.
