SANAA, 28 October 2006 — Three Australians and a Dane have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle weapons to Somalia, a security official said late Thursday.
All four have been studying at the Islamist Iman University, which is run by Sheik Abdul-Majid Al-Zindani. The United States lists Al-Zindani as an Al-Qaeda supporter.
The security official refused to give more details and spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information to media.
However, a Danish Foreign Ministry official confirmed the arrest of the Dane but refused to identify him. “All I can say is that a Danish national has been arrested according to our information,” said Uffe Wolffheckel of the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Service.
Danish media said the suspect is a 23-year-old male who converted to Islam and moved to Yemen two months ago with his wife and child.
The arrests are part of a state security campaign launched last month against members of an Al-Qaeda cell. The security official said among more than 12 suspected militants arrested in the campaign, six were believed to be linked to the Sanaa cell.
One of the detainees, Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Sinhi, also known as Abu Dujana Al-Misiki, confessed that he was assigned to carry out an attack with an explosive-laden car on Sanaa international airport, the security official said.
Yemen is believed to be a frequent route for smuggling arms to Somali factions.
Al-Qaeda was blamed for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden that killed 17 American sailors and the attack on a French oil tanker that killed one person two years later.
