SAN'A, Yemen — An American Al Qaeda suspect detained in Yemen fooled his hospital guards into unshackling him by asking to join them for prayers, security officials said Saturday. He then killed a guard who laid down his weapon as he went ahead at prayer time.
The new details of Sharif Mobley's failed escape attempt, obtained by The Associated Press, indicate the 26-year-old American of Somali descent has a level of training and cunning characteristic of the terror network.
The story of a young American Muslim drawn to Yemen, ostensibly to study Arabic, has once again demonstrated the reach of the country's year-old Al Qaeda offshoot, which was behind the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an airliner as it approached Detroit. The suspect in that attack, a young Nigerian Muslim, went to Yemen and used Arabic study as a cover, Yemeni authorities have said.
Mobley had traveled to Yemen two years ago and was recently arrested there in a sweep that netted 10 other Al Qaeda suspects...
[Webmaster - Don't forget...the underwear bomber was helped onto the plane by U.S. State Department/intelligence services... http://tarpley.net/2010/02/11/state-department-admits-detroit-christmas-bomber-was-deliberately-allowed-to-keep-us-entry-visa-board-his-flight/]
