Yemen holding 135 people suspected of al-Qaida prison escape
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-16 13:45

Yemeni security forces have arrested more than 135 people who might be able to shed light on the whereabouts of 23 al-Qaida prisoners who escaped from their cell more than a week ago, a security official said Wednesday.

Police have received "important information" from the detainees, the official said without elaborating.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the detentions were carried out by police searching suspected places and houses of relatives of the fugitives. No clues have been found yet.

Several prison wardens were suspended and detained after the February 3 escape. They were suspected of passing information and tools to the prisoners taking part in the escape.

The 23 al-Qaida prisoners, who were kept in the same cell, broke out through a tunnel 180 meters (yards) long that surfaced in a mosque. The fugitives include a man convicted of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole destroyer in Aden harbor and another convicted of the 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg.

Yemeni authorities have rejected a request by the United States to interrogate the detainees, saying this would violate Yemen's sovereignty, but have said the Americans were receiving reports from Yemeni security officials on the results of the interrogations.

Security forces set up checkpoints around the country to search for the fugitives and authorities have offered a reward of 5 million riyals (US$27,800; euro23,300) for information leading to the arrest of any of the fugitives.

The US Embassy, in a Web site warden message Tuesday, advised Americans to review their security practices in light of the escapes. Although it had no information of an imminent threat, the embassy said, it advised Americans to avoid large crowds, limit outings and vary travel routines.

Immediately after the escapes, the embassy had restricted non-essential travel for its officials and recommended Americans avoid traveling to or around Yemen. Tuesday's warden message said embassy security officials were reviewing travel to, and within, Yemen on a case-by-case basis.