SANAA, Aug 8 (KUNA) -- A Yemeni soldier and four al-Qaeda operatives were killed in clashes aimed at clamping down on a cell suspected of the terrorist attack against Spanish tourists last month, local authorities said Wednesday.
The soldier was killed in a raid that took place in the north Yemen area of Raghwan near an ancient temple, where eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis died in a suicide bombing in July, eyewitnesses told KUNA by phone, adding that three Army helicopters unloaded special Army units in the area, part of Marib governorate.
According to the Yemeni authorities, the raid, which also resulted in detaining three people, was still underway.
In a related development, the governor for the northern Marib region, Aref Al-Zouka, said another operation resulted in killing Qassem Al-Rainy, a Yemeni national considered to be a top al-Qaeda operative in the country. He said Al-Rainy was wanted in neighboring Saudi Arabia and had previously escaped from a Yemeni prison.
Two of other slain militants were also Yemenis, Al-Zouka said, and the fourth was an 18-year-old whose nationality was unknown.
Al-Qaeda has an active presence in Yemen, despite government efforts to fight the terrorist network. 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.
Yemeni Interior Ministry announced earlier today it began the fifth and final phase of its security deployment plan, whereby 7,000 troops were deployed to different governorates of the country. (pickup previous) az.mha.hb KUNA 081611 Aug 07NNNN