Yemeni security forces are pursuing a second top al-Qaida figure a day after arresting the alleged mastermind of the attacks on the destroyer USS Cole and a French oil tanker, government officials said Wednesday. Abu Ali al-Kandahari is one of two top al-Qaida leaders in Yemen. The other, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, was arrested by security forces that surrounded his hide-out west of the capital, San’a, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. Four men, believed to be al-Ahdal’s security guards, were also arrested. Al-Kandahari is believed to be hiding in the northern provinces of Marib and Jawf, and security forces are closing in on him, said officials, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. He is reported to have replaced Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi in the Yemeni al-Qaida leadership after he was killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone last year. Saudi-born al-Ahdal, 32, has been described as the main coordinator of al-Qaida activities in Yemen, supervising the terror group’s finances, weapons smuggling and operational planning and was well-connected to other extremists in Persian Gulf countries, the official said. Full Story
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