Alleged Saudi member of al-Qaeda surrenders in Yemen

Jun 18, 2009, 9:18 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - An alleged Saudi member of al-Qaeda has surrendered to police in Yemen, the Defence Ministry reported on Thursday - one week after the arrest of a Saudi man described as the senior financier of the terrorist group in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The man, identified as Naif Duhais Yahya al-Harbi, has provided 'important information that will lead to the arrest of a number of dangerous members of the organisation,' the ministry said in its online newspaper.

Al-Harbi gave himself up 'after a constant manhunt' by Yemeni security forces, it said, providing no details on the exact date or location of the surrender.

On June 12, police arrested a Saudi man described as the top financier of al-Qaeda operations in Yemen and neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The suspect was captured in the desert province of Marib, some 190 kilometres north-west of the capital Sana'a, police officials said.

Yemen launched a countrywide manhunt in January for Yemeni and Saudi fugitive al-Qaeda members after the group announced the merger of its branches in Yemen and Saudi Araiba into the 'al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.'

The new group, headed by Nasser al-Wahishi, former secretary of Osama bin Laden, is believed to have some 1,200 militants from both countries hiding in four desert provinces in north and east of Yemen.

Yemen, a close US-ally in the 'fight against terrorism', was itself the scene of deadly attacks in recent months.