36 Yemenis tried on terror charges

SAN'A, Yemen - Thirty-six Yemenis with alleged ties to al-Qaida went on trial Sunday on charges they planned to take part in foiled suicide attacks on oil and gas installations in the country, the official news agency SABA reported.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of "forming an armed gang aimed at carrying out sabotage attacks," SABA reported, adding that they allegedly planned to attack oil installations in Marib and Hadaramout provinces with rocket-propelled grenades.

The defendants have pleaded innocent to the charges, SABA said. Three of the suspects have claimed they were tortured in custody and forced to sign confessions, the news agency reported. The judge on Sunday ordered a medical investigation into their allegations.

The judge adjourned the trial for two weeks to give the defense time to prepare its case.

From the Fourth Rail

Report: Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State of Iraq, captured
http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/03/report_abu_omar_alba.php

Unconfirmed report indicates Bagdadi captured in Salahadin province

Iraqi security forces are reporting that Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaeda's political front organization the Islamic State of Iraq, has been captured in the northern city of Duluiya in Salahadin province, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The report has not been confirmed by the U.S. military at this time. The mid February news that Abu Musab al-Masri was wounded and subsequently captured by Iraqi security forces turned out to be a false report from the Interior Ministry. However today's report of al-Baghdadi's capture was issued by the Salahadin provincial administration.

Al-Baghdadi's real name is reported as Muharib Mohammed Abdullah, and he is “a former legal expert from the city of Balad.” Baghdadi's capture would be a largely symbolic victory, as al-Masri is the real power behind al-Qaeda and its Islamic State.

However, his arrest would signal that U.S. and Iraqi intelligence is penetrating al-Qaeda in Iraq's security. And Baghdadi may have information on the whereabouts of senior or mid-level al-Qaeda leaders and members of the Islamic State's Shura (or execute council).

Al-Qaeda established the Islamic State in Iraq in October of 2006 to put an Iraqi face on al-Qaeda's operations in Iraq and unite the Sunni disparate elements of the insurgency. Al-Qaeda claims the Islamic State of Iraq is comprised of “Baghdad, Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Ninawa, and in other parts of the governorate of Babel.” The declaration of the Sunni Islamic State of Iraq followed the creation of the "Mutayibeen Coalition," which includes six Anbar tribes, as well as three smaller insurgent groups.

But not all Sunni insurgent groups have united under the banner of al-Qaeda's Islamic State. Sunni tribes and elements of insurgent groups such as the 1920s Revolution Brigade and the Islamic Army in Iraq in Anbar province have formed the Anbar Salvation Council and have fought pitched battles against al-Qaeda, the most recent in Amiriya.

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