Al-Mahra (South24) 

Yesterday, the Yemeni Interior Ministry announced the arrest of a terrorist cell that had been plotting to kidnap foreigners in Al-Mahra Governorate in South Yemen.

An official statement from the Ministry said that on Sunday, February 25, police forces in Al-Mahra Governorate were able to arrest “10 members belonging to a terrorist group who were in charge of kidnapping, and were distributed and hidden in various places in the governorate.”

“The security units were forced to use force to arrest the terrorist cell members after they opened fire on the security men … [the terrorists] were forced to surrender," the statement added.

The statement indicated that "the tracking and monitoring process was a qualitative and complex operation that lasted for several months until all elements of the terrorist cell were arrested."

The security statement did not clarify which terrorist group the cell members belonged to, and no photos of the accused individuals have been published.

Over the past several years, a number of foreign tourists and employees of UN organizations in Yemen have been kidnapped by AQAP and tribal members in pursuit of ransom payments.