ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security authorities managed to arrest five suspected al-Qaida militants early Wednesday at a hotel in the southern port city of Aden, a security official and witness told Xinhua.
Units of the military police raided a hotel in the Sheikh Othman district and took away five suspected al-Qaida militants, who sneaked into Aden from the neighboring Abyan province, the official who asked not to be named said, adding that "the police raid came after receiving a tip-off from the hotel staff."
"The anti-terrorism forces were deployed around the hotel after picking up the al-Qaida-linked militants," witnesses said.
According to the initial official investigations, the detainees belong to a terrorist cell actively involved in plotting suicide attacks against military officials in the port city of Aden.
A number of intelligence offices and police stations in Aden have repeatedly been the targets in the last several months, as government authorities usually accuse militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) of being behind these attacks.
In the nearby Abyan province, hundreds of AQAP militants captured the provincial city and at least three other towns late in May.
The terrorist group has stepped up attacks on government troops in Yemen's lawless southern regions, exploiting turmoil in a country convulsed by ten months of protests against the 33-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
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