On Wednesday, Yemeni forces raided an Al Qaeda hideout and set off a gun battle as the government vowed to eliminate the group that claimed it was behind the Christmas bombing attempt on a US airliner on approach to Detroit.

The fighting took place in an Al Qaeda stronghold in western Yemen, haven for a group that attacked the US Embassy in Sana’a in 2008, killing 10 Yemeni guards and four civilians. At least one suspected militant was arrested during the clashes, a government statement said.

Deputy Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Saleh al-Zawari told senior military officials at a meeting in Mareb, another province believed to shelter Al Qaeda fighters, “The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down Al Qaeda terrorists and will continue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated.”

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s group, claimed it was behind the attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner. On Friday, 23-year-old Nigerian passenger Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested after he allegedly tried to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight carrying 289 people.

(article source: Detroit Free Press, photo source: Sydney Morning Herald)