Yemen holds U.S. citizen for suspected al Qaeda ties

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Authorities have detained a U.S. citizen suspected to have links to al Qaeda, a Yemeni security official said Wednesday.

The American, the official said, was arrested in a hotel in the southern city of Shabwa, a onetime stronghold of al Qaeda militants, later pushed out into nearby mountains by a military offensive. He was holding two U.S. passports and one German one, officials said.

The official declined to give further details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Yemen has detained a number of Westerners, Asians and other foreigners over alleged links to al Qaeda.

Washington considers Yemen‘sal Qaeda branch to be the terror network’s most dangerous offshoot.

The U.S. Embassy could not be reached immediately for comment.

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