Yemen’s security forces have arrested two of the 23 prisoners who escaped last month from jail, reports the London-based daily Al-Hayyat. The prisoners were caught only two days after three others surrendered themselves to the authorities.
Among those who are still on the run, are men accused of bombing the American destroyer USS Cole in October 2000, and attackers of the French supertanker Limburg in 2002.
In related news, the Yemeni Appeal Court in ‘Ibb executed ‘Abed ‘Abd A-Razzaq Kamil on Monday morning, the killer of three American missionaries in Jibla in 2002, reported the daily Yemeni Observer.
Kamil, 30, had been convicted of opening fire on a staff meeting at a Baptist hospital in the southern town of Jibla in December 2002, killing obstetrician and surgeon Martha C. Myers, 57, hospital director William Koehn, 60, and purchasing agent Kathleen A. Gariety, 43.
The death sentence was approved Sunday by President ‘Ali ‘Abdallah ‘Salih, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, according to the Saba News Agency.
During the investigation, Kamil admitted that he had coordinated the operation with ‘Ali Jarallah A-Sawani, who was executed earlier this year for killing a Yemenite politician two days before the Jibla killings.
Both Kamil and A-Sawani were preparing to assassinate some senior dignitaries and foreigners as well.