Yemen 'arrests senior al-Qaeda man'

The alleged top al-Qaeda financier in Yemen has been arrested, security officials say.

He has been named as Hassan Hussein Bin Alwan, a Saudi Arabian national.

Reports say he was detained two days ago in Marib province, east of the capital, Sanaa, and is facing charges of forming an armed group.

Yemen has been combating Islamic militants suspected of links to al-Qaeda since the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.

Bin Alwan has been charged with forming a terrorist group in Yemen and financing its activities.

The Yemeni embassy in Washington released a statement detailing his capture.

It cited a security official who said that it was "a major coup in the war on al-Qaeda" and that the arrest would be "instrumental in understanding the system of global terrorism financing".

The family of Saudi-born al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is originally from Yemen.

Officials have expressed fears that Yemen might be used as a staging post for attempts to destabilise Saudi Arabia.

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