Al-Qaida linked tribal leader under house arrest in Yemen's Aden

A prominent tribal leader with alleged links to the Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot was put under house arrest in the southern city of Aden, a Yemeni government official told Xinhua on Sunday. Tariq al-Fadli, a tribal leader suspected of having links to the al-Qaida, was moved out of his besieged residential compound in neighboring Abyan province to the port city of Aden, where he will live under house arrest, the local government official said on condition of anonymity. "Al-Fadli along with his family are now under house arrest in Aden. He left his residential compound late on Saturday night after deadly armed clashes with pro-government militiamen," he said. On Saturday, armed clashes erupted between pro-government militiamen and supporters of Al-Fadli in Abyan, leaving at least two people killed and three others injured, a security official said. Two bodyguards of al-Fadli were among those injured, according to the official. Tariq al-Fadli, who was raised in Saudi Arabia and fought in Afghanistan, heads a prominent tribe in Abyan. The Yemeni authorities accused al-Fadli of having links to al-Qaida's active Yemeni wing and supporting terrorists to stage armed attacks against army troops in Abyan. The Yemen-based al-Qaida offshoot has exploited Yemen's year- long unrest and controlled several southern cities for more than one year before they were driven out by a U.S. backed army offensive. On June 20, Yemen's military officials announced seizing al- Qaida's last bastion in the country's troubled south following the military offensive. However, local military and anti-terrorism experts said the Yemeni al-Qaida branch remained a major threat to the impoverished Arab country.