Kuwait has arrested two men suspected of financing Al
Qaida.
U.S. intelligence sources said Mohsen Al Fadli and Adel Buhaimed were
arrested earlier this month in an operation that involved the United
States. Al Fadli and Buhaimed were described as leading Al Qaida financiers
in the Persian Gulf region, Middle East Newsline reported.
ABC News said the two Al Qaida suspects were believed to have played a
significant role in anti-U.S. attacks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. They
included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden and the May 12
suicide strikes on Western compounds in Riyad.
Both attacks were attributed to Al Qaida.
The sources said Al Fadli and Buhaimed were collecting money for
anti-U.S. attacks in Yemen. They said the money was to have been transferred
to Al Qaida operative Mohammed Hamid Al Ahdal, a major Al Qaida operative in
Yemen.
Last week, the State Department warned of an Al Qaida return to Yemen
and urged Americans to stay away from the country. It was the first warning
of Al Qaida's presence in Yemen since the U.S. assassination of Abu Al
Harithi, an Al Qaida operative in Yemen, in November 2002.
Al Ahdal was said to have escaped U.S. forces and has become director
of operations in Yemen, the sources said. They said Al Ahdal has obtained
weapons, money and communication devices required for a wave of attacks.
