KUWAIT: Kuwaiti officials yesterday announced the arrest of a senior al Qaeda operative accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack on a hotel housing US citizens in the Yemeni capital of Saana.
A Kuwaiti government source described the arrest, which took place two weeks ago, as a "huge catch".
"This is a significant blow to al-Qaeda. He was one of their main organisers and fundraisers," said the source.
The man, a Kuwaiti national known only as Mosen, is believed to be a regional commander for the al-Qaeda network responsible for attacks on the French supertanker Limberg off the coast of Yemen last month and the USS Cole in October 2001, in which 17 US sailors were killed.
The timing of the announcement of the arrest has focused attention on the urgency with which the al-Qaeda threat in the Gulf region is being confronted.
Mosen's arrest follows a string of setbacks for al-Qaeda in the region.
Last week, US officials announced the arrest of another high-ranking al-Qaeda operative, and two weeks ago al-Harethi, the suspected mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole, was assassinated in Yemen by a unmanned, armed aerial drone.
According to a senior western diplomat, however, efforts to track down and eliminate al-Qaeda in the region have "barely begun". "The threat to security in the Gulf region is huge, and we've only seeing the tip of the iceberg," said the diplomat.
Yemen in particular, the planned target of Mosen's attack, is rapidly coming to be considered the latest front-line in the war against terrorism.
Yesterday, the British embassy in Yemen was closed to the public for a review of security of arrangements, and over the weekend the Foreign Office advised against all travel to Yemen, warning of "heightened terrorist activity", telling 300 British nationals already there that they should consider leaving.
Of concern to Western governments, however, will have been the involvement of Kuwaiti nationals in al-Qaeda activity.
Kuwait, previously thought to be immune to bin Laden's message, has been rocked recently by a series of terrorist incidents. Last month two gunmen opened fired on US troops training on Failaka island, killing one marine and injuring another.
The stability of Kuwait, which is currently the base for over 10,000 US troops, is seen as vital for launching possible military action against Iraq.
Dr Shafeeq Ghabra, director of the Centre for Strategy and Future studies, a government think tank said, "I cannot see how a war against Iraq can be fought if the whole region finds itself in the grips of fighting the war against terrorism at the same time."