‘Double agent’ foiled al-Qaeda bomb plot

As the US launches airstrikes on al-Qaeda targets in Yemen after a thwarted suicide bombing attempt on a US-bound flight, we are about see exactly how ill-equipped Washington is to deal with the complexities that are shaping the conflicts in Yemen.

As Yemen deploys more troops against the al Qaeda affiliate suspected in last week's foiled package-bomb plot, tribal feuds sparked by the government offensive create a new hurdle.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle paid a surprise visit to Sanaa on Monday as pressure mounted on Yemen to rein in Al-Qaeda militants believed behind a botched attempt to bomb a US airliner.Westerwelle, the first European minister to visit Sanaa since the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas day attack, was holding talks with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other top officials.

A US-Yemeni cleric tied to the 2009 failed bombing of a US airliner was Tuesday added to a United Nations terror blacklist targeting associates of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, UN and US officials said.The latest target is Anwar al-Awlaqi, a senior member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) who is wanted for his part in the plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane bound for Detroit last December 25 with 290 people on board.

A court in Yemen, under mounting US pressure to fight Al-Qaeda after a foiled air cargo bomb plot, ordered Saturday the arrest by any means of a US-born cleric for alleged links to the terror group.Judge Mohsen Alwan called on prosecutors to "forcibly arrest" Anwar al-Awlaqi and a relative, Othman al-Awlaqi, whom a Sanaa court has charged with "incitement to kill foreigners and members of security services."Public prosecutor Ali al-Samet told the court the pair had failed to appear for a second time on Saturday before the court that specialises in terrorism cases.

As Yemen deploys more troops against the al Qaeda affiliate suspected in the foiled package-bomb plot, tribal feuds sparked by the government offensive create a new hurdle.