| Yemen sent special army troops led by the son of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to search for Muslim militants linked to Osama bin Laden a day after clashes killed at least 18 people from both sides. "Special units led by Colonel Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh ... have been dispatched to support army units in Marib and Shabwa provinces," a security official said. Ahmed heads Yemen's Republican Guard, an elite force to protect the president. Government officials said the army did not exchange fire with the militants and their tribal protectors but the search operations were going on. "This is a hot pursuit that will continue until the terrorist elements are arrested," one official said. The government's al-Thawra newspaper said Tuesday's three-hour clashes were part of Yemen's efforts to join the international coalition against terrorism. But it added: "Pursuing suspected terrorists is a Yemeni decision and is conducted by using its own national resources." The paper said some of the militants were non-Yemeni Arabs, who had "shown no respect for Yemen's hospitality ... because of their involvement in destructive activities." |