A group of fifty Islamic militants have been arrested by the Yemeni authorities, accused of being part of the Al-Qaeda terror network. The Emirates newspaper Al-Bayane reported on Wednesday that those arrested are close to the Islamic extremist movement in the country and have been arrested in the past but released after several months under the rehabilitation programme led by Judge Hamud al-Hitar.The Yemeni police raided the homes of 15 Islamists in the Abin area and 30 in the Taiz area, both in the far south of the country, and another five in the cities of Aden and Sanaa. All were arrested on charges of restoring their links with people close to al-Qaeda and the Islamic extremist movement being investigated by magistrates in Yemen. Yemen has been trying to rid itself of its reputation as a haven for Islamic extremists. One of its measures is closing down some 4,000 unlicenced religious schools, where ministers said extremism was being preached. In the last few days some 80 overseas students at these schools have been deported.