ROYG UPDATE ON DISRUPTION OF AL-QAIDA CELL

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 002552

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2013
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL PGOV YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: ROYG UPDATE ON DISRUPTION OF AL-QAIDA CELL

REF: A. SANAA 2434

B. SANAA 2410

C. SANAA 2440

Classified By: Ambassador Edmund J. Hull for Reasons 1.5 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: On 10/22 Foreign Minister Qirbi convened a
joint meeting with Interior Minister Alimi with key Western
Embassies to provide an update on the September disruption of
an al-Qaida cell (refs). Alimi provided further information
on ROYG's investigation into the cell's activities and
members, particularly information on several recent arrests
in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, including specific names. He
asserted that the "danger was over" for Western targets in
Yemen because MOI believed that all cell members inside Yemen
had been captured. Close cooperation between Yemen and Saudi
Arabia appears to have broken this particular cell.
Attendees at the briefing included Pol/Econ Chief and Deputy
(Ambassador was on in-country travel, DCM was out of
country),the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy and the
Netherlands and the UK deputy head of mission. Despite the
success of this investigation, Post's security practices will
remain tight. End Summary.

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ROYG Message: "All the Members" Inside Yemen Arrested;
"Danger is Over"
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2. (C) Interior Minister Alimi said it was "very important"
to provide an update after the last meeting on 9/28 (ref c).
He noted the 9/28 meeting was held to provide the Embassies a
warning because of ROYG concern that, despite the capture of
the main leader of the al-Qaida cell, they had not reached
all members of the terror cell. Alimi said he wanted to
provide a "clear picture" of ROYG actions to date, the
results of the Yemen-Saudi investigation and assurances of
increased safety to all Embassies that were targets. He
noted the MOI was able to arrest "all the members" of the
cell inside Yemen.


3. (C) After the French Ambassador asked for clarification on
the ROYG's message, Alimi said the official message was that
Yemen is "safer now" and that the "danger is over." In
response to further questioning by the Dutch Ambassador on
previous comments by the ROYG that the arrests could be the
"tip of the iceberg," Alimi said that he judges things
according to reality and what he can see, but admitted that
he cannot really know about things he has not yet seen. He
invited the French Ambassador to re-open the French Cultural
Institute, which was closed recently because of security
concerns, and urged all attendees to send the message back to
their governments that Yemen was safe.

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Cell Information: New Names, Basoura Captured,
Financier Still At-Large in Saudi Arabia
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4. (C) Dr. Alimi described the cell as having three groups.
The first was headed by the main leader, 'Amr Abdul Rahman
al-Sharif, who remains in custody. The second was led by a
financial coordinator named Abdul Rahman Basoura (ref c),who
went to Saudi Arabia to collect funds to carry out the
planned attacks. The Saudis recently handed Basoura over to
the ROYG authorities after they arrested him as part of a
joint investigation. He is currently in "security" (note:
presumably the Political Security Organization (PSO). End
Note) custody. The third group that advised on religious
matters was led by a Syrian named Amr Majid al-Abiyad. Alimi
said the KSA told the ROYG that they have arrested him and
that he "admitted to transfering money to the cell to conduct
terrorist acts."


5. (C) Dr. Alimi said that MOI believes it has been able to
arrest all members of the cell present in Yemen in
cooperation with Saudi Arabia, although he remains worried
about the "re-birth of other cells." He also mentioned that
the last five members of the cell arrested in Yemen are still
under investigation. This last group was arrested with
documents proving that money had been transferred from Saudi
Arabia. The name found on the official money transfer
documents (Ahmed Saad al-Ghamdi) was provided to KSA
authorities for follow-up, and Alimi noted that unless
al-Ghamdi used false identification, he was confident the
name was correct and accurate.


6. (C) When asked about the total number arrested in Yemen
and Saudi Arabia, Alimi said that 17 persons were arrested in
Yemen. In Saudi Arabia, he mentioned Basoura and al-Abiyad
by name and said that the ROYG had provided "code names" to
the Saudi authorities and had been informed that the Saudis
had made the arrests. Dr. Alimi again characterized the
Yemen-Saudi cooperation as "excellent."

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FM Qirbi -- MOI Successful,
More Assistance Requested, and Media Leaks Damaging
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7. (C) Foreign Minister Qirbi noted the Ministry of Interior
has done a "very good job" in the last year and requested
increased support so MOI "could do even better." He also
cautioned about leaks to the media, saying that they have
created a lot of anxiety that damaged the ROYG's move towards
a more normal security situation. He specifically mentioned
travel advisories and their negative impact on tourism, and
said he did not want the price of transparency to be inflated
security concerns that continue to damage Yemen's economy.

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Comment
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8. (S/NF) Begin Comment: The briefing was clearly aimed to
provide assurances of safety. While the success of the
continued investigation is impressive, Post will maintain its
current vigilant security practices. Post does not deem that
the new information requires a warden message. The evidence
of a productive and cooperative Yemen-Saudi investigation is
good news for regional security and efforts in other
counter-terrorism areas such as combatting weapons smuggling.
While the MOI repeated that they had "no objection" to
sharing documents and evidence through "coordinating
agencies" (Note: presumably the ORCA and PSO) and offered to
inform "security" to share information, ORCA reports that
they have only received a brief PSO investigative report and
no access to any raw evidence. There is an apparent
disconnect between the MOI and PSO on willingness to share
information. End Comment.
HULL