SANAA, 21 March 2004 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh held talks here yesterday with Gen, John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command. The talks focused on security cooperation and joint efforts against terrorism, the state-run Saba news agency reported.
Saleh and Abizaid, who commands US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, discussed “cooperation in the security field, (military) training, coast guard and combating terrorism,” the agency said. The talks also touched on recent developments in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.
In remarks during the meeting, the agency said the US officer “hailed efforts exerted by Yemen in the fight against terrorism, and the country’s visible accomplishments in this field.”
Abizaid also underlined the “keenness of the United States to consolidate ties and partnership with Yemen in domains of politics, economy, military and security.”
Abizaid was accompanied by the head of the US-led anti-terror task force in the Horn of Africa, Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson.
Yemen is a key ally of the United States in the war against terrorism. Acting on a US request, the country has rounded up hundreds of suspected Al-Qaeda members during the past two years.
On Friday, Yemeni security forces recaptured two suspects in the October 2000 bombing of the US warship, USS Cole. Seventeen US sailors were killed in the attack.
The two escaped from a Yemeni prison almost a year ago. The men, Jamal Muhammad Al-Badawi and Fahd Al-Qasei, were captured at a police checkpoint in the southern Abyan province, the Interior Ministry said.
