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The attack was not claimed by any party
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SANAA,
November 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Gunmen in Yemen
opened fired Sunday, November 3, at a helicopter belonging to U.S. oil
independent Hunt Oil Company, shortly after its takeoff from Sanaa
airport, injuring one American, Yemeni aviation and security officials
said.
The
helicopter, hit by one bullet, immediately returned to Sanaa where it
landed safely, the sources said, according to Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
An
American Hunt employee on board was slightly injured and taken to
hospital in a state of shock, they said, unable to confirm whether the
man had been shot.
Security
services began a search of the tribal area, three kilometers (two
miles) east of the airport, from where the shots were fired, the
security source said.
The
helicopter, the manifesto of which was not given, was heading for the
oil-rich Marib region, 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Sanaa.
Dutch
airline KLM and Lufthansa of Germany both cancelled their flights to Yemen.
In
a separate related development, U.S. officials expressed skepticism
late Saturday, November 2, over British media reports about recent
arrests of close relatives of Osama bin Laden in the Gulf region.
The
Financial Times of London reported
on its Web site earlier Saturday that Iranian security forces had
detained at least one of bin Laden's sons after he crossed the border
from Afghanistan and handed him over to either the Saudi or Pakistani
authorities.
Meanwhile,
The Sunday Times said bin Laden's youngest wife has been arrested
after a gun battle at her father's compound in Yemen.
Amal
al-Saddah, bin Laden's wife, in her early twenties, has been placed
under house arrest and questioned by Yemeni authorities, The Sunday
Times said.
Arab
diplomats told the paper that shooting broke out at the family home in
Ibb, south of Sanaa, when security forces arrived last month.
"She
(al-Saddah) escaped from her hiding place in southern Afghanistan
which he (bin Laden) made his base, only to find herself closely
guarded under house arrest in her father's compound," the paper
said.
Her
father and brother have also been taken into custody, partly because
of U.S. pressure to obtain information about the fugitive al-Qaeda
leader and his international network, the paper quoted Yemeni sources
as saying.
It
is not known what charges the men face - only that they were detained
by the security forces, the paper added.
"Yemen
is doing everything it can to co-operate with the Americans," one
expert Yemeni source told the paper.
"But
they have to balance this with trying not to upset the tribes,"
the source added.
Two
U.S. government officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity,
said they could not confirm either of the reports, and one expressed
skepticism about them.
"We
have nothing to corroborate these claims," that official said.
Bin
Laden has been accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on
the United States, but no solid evidence backing the suspicions has
been declared.
U.S.
officials said they are not sure whether bin Laden is still alive or
has been killed in one of the U.S.-led military operations in
Afghanistan.
