almotamar.net - Security authorities in Aden late yesterday evening managed to abort an escape attempt by prisoners believed to be affiliated to al-Qaeda organisation from al-Mansooura prison in the city of Aden in south Yemen. Security sources mentioned to almotamar.net that officials of the prison discovered on Thursday evening a 6-metre long and a metre and a half high tunnel heading to out of the prison.


Preliminary information points out involvement of prisoners imprisoned over terrorist cases are behind digging the tunnel in preparation for their escape from the prison but discovery of digging came before completing the escape operation that al-Qaeda member prisoners have been accustomed to use lately.

Almotamar.net correspondent in Aden reported that a security patrol was seen on Thursday evening surrounding al-Mansoura prison from different directions.

In February 2003, 23 leading al-Qaeda elements in Yemen had escaped from the Political Security prison in Sana�a through a tunnel of more than 300-metre long dug from inside a woman prayer hall at Awqaf mosque close to the building of the Political Security Organisation. The tunnel was leading to cells of the prisoners. However, security authorities managed later to arrest most of those escapee prisoners.