| Yemeni security forces arrested more than a dozen wanted militants Wednesday in raids on the mountainous hideouts of Arab fighters, following reports of planned attacks within the country. Tanks, reinforced by aerial coverage, advanced on the hideouts in Abyan province and cordoned off the area. The crackdown came amid reports of planned attacks in Yemen. Security was visibly tightened in the capital around embassies, foreign companies and government institutions. An official said the troops were searching for Yemeni and Arab fighters, mainly Egyptians and Saudis, who took refuge in Yemen after fighting in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Also Wednesday, the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported that Sayed Imam el-Sharif, a leading member of Egypt's Islamic Jihad, was arrested in Yemen. El-Sharif, founder of the Islamic Jihad, moved to Yemen in 1996 and turned over control of the group to Ayman al-Zawahri, now al-Qaida's No. 2 leader. |