57 al-Qaida militants escape from Yemeni prison by attacking guards, fleeing thr

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57 al-Qaida militants escape from Yemeni prison by attacking guards, fleeing

through tunnel

By Ahmed Al-Haj, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 21 minutes ago

SANAA, Yemen - Dozens of al-Qaida militants battled their way out of prison

Wednesday in the latest sign that Yemen's political upheaval has emboldened them

to challenge authorities in the country's nearly lawless south, security

officials said.

In a carefully choreographed escape from the Mukalla prison in Hadramout

province, 57 al-Qaida-linked militants attacked their guards and seized their

weapons before they made their way through a 45-yard (meter) tunnel to freedom.

Simultaneously, bands of gunmen opened fire at the prison from outside to divert

the guards' attention, the officials said.

At least one guard was killed and another wounded, said the officials, who spoke

on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the

media.

The 57 were among 62 inmates who escaped. It was not clear whether the other six

were also Islamic militants.

The officials said many of the inmates who escaped belonged to a local Hadramout

cell blamed for a series of attacks on security forces in the last two years.

Their leader, Hamza al-Qehety, was killed in a clash with security forces in

2008, but several of the cell's senior members were believed to be among those

who escaped Wednesday.

The last major breakout by al-Qaida militants in Yemen took place in 2006, when

23 escaped a Sanaa detention facility. Among them was Nasser al-Wahishi, who

went on to become the leader of al-Qaida in Yemen, as well as Qassim al-Rimi, a

dominant figure in the group.

Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen has been linked to several nearly successful attacks

on U.S. targets, including the plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December

2009. The group also put sophisticated bombs into U.S.-addressed parcels that

made it onto cargo flights last year.

Al-Qaida-linked militants seized control last month of two towns in Abyan,

another southern province, and briefly took control of several neighbourhoods in

the neighbouring province of Lahj last week.

Some of these militants belong to groups that have been quietly tolerated by

longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh and used to counter the weight of other

extremists or against secessionists in the mostly secular south of the country.

Yemen's political crisis began when demonstrators inspired by successful

uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia took to the streets in early February to demand

Saleh's ouster. The largely peaceful movement gave way to heavy street fighting

when tribal militias took up arms in late May.

Saleh, Yemen's president of nearly 33 years, was badly wounded in an attack on

his Sanaa compound earlier this month and is undergoing medical treatment in

Saudi Arabia. The head of Yemen's most powerful tribal confederation warned

Tuesday in a letter to the Saudi king that Yemen could plunge into civil war if

Saleh is allowed to return home.

Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi became acting president after Saleh's

departure. The opposition has accused Saleh's inner circle and family of

hindering the opposition's dialogue with Hadi.