Yemen arrests three foreigners over possible al Qaeda links

DUBAI - Yemeni police have arrested three foreigners in the capital Sanaa after one of them was found to have al Qaeda material in his possession, the Interior Ministry said.

The foreigners, a Bulgarian, Belgian and Somali, were aged between 22 and 48, the ministry said on its website late on Friday. "The third person was found to have slogans for al Qaeda in his possession," the statement said without identifying which of the three men it was referring to.

Last year Yemeni security forces launched a campaign to drive out al Qaeda from their strongholds in the south. US drone attacks have also targeted suspected al Qaeda members.

Militants have still proved capable of launching attacks in the volatile Western-allied country, which shares a long border Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

Their most lethal attacks have recently been directed against the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi movement that took over Sanaa in September. Al Qaeda regards Shi'ites as heretics.