Yemen sentences 6 to prison over al-Qaida charges

SANAA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Yemeni security court on Monday ordered prison sentences for six people convicted of belonging to an al-Qaida cell and plotting attacks against Yemeni and foreign interests during 2009-2011, the state Saba news agency reported.

They received prison sentences ranging from one year to five years, it said. The Sanaa-based court acquitted six others of the same case for the lack of evidence against them, Saba added.

In a separate case, the court set Nov. 19 as the date to deliver verdicts against six other defendants -- including an Emirati of Yemeni origin -- also accused of belonging to the al- Qaida local network and plotting attacks.

On Oct. 2, the same security court sentenced two al-Qaida militants to death for attacking a military truck loaded with ammunition in the eastern province of Marib in 2011.

Backed by the United States, the Yemeni government is struggling to defeat a resurgent al-Qaida branch and restore security, as the country is still in the process of a political transition after the stepping down of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Enditem

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