The war on Al-Qaeda will continue in Yemen directly and indirectly and hunting for Anwar Al-Awlaki will continue as well until he is captured or he surrenders, head of the National Security Agency Ahmed Al-Anesi has said.
In an interview with the mouthpiece of the ruling party, Al-Methaq Newspaper, Al-Anesi, who is also director of the State Presidency Office, touched upon the botched suicide attack on the convoy of the British ambassador to Sana'a in late last month, saying the attack was a desperate attempt of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which has recently received devastating blows during the terror operations in the north and south.
He also said that suspects involved in the attack have been arrested and are now being investigated.
Moreover, Al-Anesi said that Yemen is not a safe haven for terrorists, however, Yemen is an active ally in the war on Al-Qaeda.
Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi has recently said that Yemen would not hand Al-Awlaki to the U.S. if he was captured because the man is now wanted by the Yemeni authorities which found he was involved in terrorist activity.
Al-Awlaki must be tried in his country but not by other governments, he said.
The U.S. is seeking the U.S.-born cleric from Yemeni descent dead or alive after the botched attack on a U.S.-bound airliner in late last year by Nigerian Umer Farouk Abdulamutallab.