Abdulmutallab joined al Qaeda in London, al-Awlaki Killed

Plane bomb suspect Abdulmutallab joined al Qaeda in London: Yemen

SANAA (Reuters) – A Nigerian man accused in the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound plane on Christmas Day was recruited by al Qaeda in London and met radical American Muslim cleric al-Awlaki in Yemen, a top Yemeni official.

Yemen, the poorest Arab country, was thrust into the foreground of the U.S.-led war against Islamist militants after a Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda said it was behind the failed bomb attempt.

“The information provided to us is that Umar Farouk (Abdulmutallab) joined al Qaeda in London,” Rshad al-Alimi, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security, told a news conference on Thursday.

Alimi said that Abdulmutallab had also met with Muslim preacher Anwar al-Awlaki during his time in Yemen, referring to an English-speaking cleric linked to a gunman who ran amok in a U.S. army base in Texas.

A Yemeni security official has said Awlaki was believed to have later died in a strike on al Qaeda militants last month.

Yemen, trying to fight a resurgent al Qaeda on its territory, launched an operation this week to root out al Qaeda militants who they said were behind threats that forced Western embassies to close on Sunday.

The raid, which killed two militants, allayed U.S. concerns and allowed its heavily fortified mission to reopen.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi, whose country is also facing a Shi’ite revolt in the north and simmering separatist sentiment in the south, said fighting militants was a priority for Yemeni forces and rejected foreign intervention.

A Yemeni soldier sitting inside a helicopter as it patrols over a rebel stronghold. (AFP)

Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula