Suspected Yemen gunman arrested

Police in Yemen have arrested a gunman in connection with the killing of three American doctors earlier today, security officials said.

The attacker entered the hospital hiding a semi-automatic rifle under his jacket and then opened fire, killing the three Americans instantly.

He then headed to the pharmacy and opened fired, wounding the fourth person.

Yemen has for years been a haven for wanted Muslim extremists and is the ancestral homeland of al-Qaida terror chief Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden enlisted thousands of Yemenis to fight alongside the mujahedeen of Afghanistan in their US-backed war against an occupation Soviet army in the 1980s. Many returned when the Soviets withdrew, and they are a powerful political force in the country.

On October 6, an explosives-laden boat rammed a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen, killing one crew member, tearing a hole in the vessel and spilling 90,000 barrels of oil.

An intelligence official in Washington has said US experts believe the Limburg attack was the work of unspecified operatives with links to al-Qaida.

Statements attributed to bin Laden and his network’s “political bureau” hailed the explosion on the tanker but would not confirm al-Qaida’s responsibility.

In October 2000, 17 US sailors were killed in a similar attack on the USS Cole in the southern port of Aden.