29 al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Yemen

SANAA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Yemen had arrested 29 suspected al-Qaeda members and will continue to hunt down other members of the terror network, government officials said Monday.

This picture shows Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on the runway after arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Amsterdam on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009. A passenger aboard the plane set off firecrackers Friday, causing a commotion and some minor injuries, a Delta official said.(Xinhua/AP Photo)

Al-Qaeda had planned to attack oil facilities, government buildings and the British embassy, said Yemen's National Security Chief Ali Mohammad Al-Ansi.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdullah Al-Kurbi said the recent months have seen enhanced cooperation between his country and the United States, and the U.S. information had been a "key element" in Yemen's anti-terror operations.

Al-Qaeda claimed on Monday that it was behind the failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane, Dubai-based Al Arabiya news channel reported.

In a statement, al-Qaeda said that their "Nigerian brother," 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had broken all U.S. security barriers in getting on board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25.

The man had tried to destroy the plane carrying 289 people with an explosive device obtained from al-Qaeda, but failed due to a "technical fault," the report quoted al-Qaeda as saying.

Earlier, the Nigerian attacker claimed he had ties with al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.