Posted on 01/03/2003 3:25:11 PM PST by knighthawk
A large number of Islamist students have been arrested in Yemen in the wake of this week's fatal shootings of three American missionaries and the assassination of a socialist political leader, a security official said Thursday.
"Many students at Al-Iman University in Sanaa suspected of extremist activities and having links with the assassins of the three American missionaries and the number two of the Yemeni Socialist Party Jarallah Omar were arrested Thursday," said the official, who requested he not be named.
He would not disclose exactly how many students had been arrested, but said among them were "persons whose names were mentioned in the questioning of the assassins of the Americans and Jarallah Omar."
On Monday, Yemeni Islamist Abed Abdulrazzak al-Kamel carried a concealed Kalashnikov assault rifle into the Jibla Baptist hospital in the southern town, burst into an administration meeting and killed hospital administrator William Koehn, purchasing agent Kathleen Gariety and doctor Martha Myers.
Pharmacist Donald Caswell was badly wounded in the attack. Kamel was arrested immediately after the attack.
Two days prior, Ali Jarallah, a rogue member of the Islamist al-Islah, shot and fatally wounded Omar during a conference after the latter gave a speech rejecting "the culture of violence" in the Arabian peninsula country. He was also arrested.
Police said Wednesday that more than 30 Islamists had been arrested across the country since the shootings following a get-tough call from President Ali Abdallah Saleh, but it was not clear if they included the students cited by the security official.
In another development, the September 26 weekly newspaper, published by the defence ministry, reported that both attackers were members of the Islamist al-Islah and attended Al-Iman University, run by the party's spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdel Majid Zindani.
However, both left the school after disagreements with its rejection of taking hardline stances against the West and minority Islamic sects.
The association of Yemeni Ulemas issued a statement Thursday condemning "the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism" and urged the government to strike down hard on attackers.
Um...yeah, that's how it's usually done. You put heat on the perps and get them to rat out their buddies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.