Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, al-Qaida’s top man in Yemen who was killed in a US air strike, had eluded capture for months by hiding in the desert and remote villages.

A suspected Yemeni al-Qaida member, believed to be related to one of the September 11 hijackers, blew himself up after being cornered by security forces in a San’a suburb.