Yemen comments on bombing suspect

Yemen, says the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a US jet had lived in Yemen at two different times.

A Yemeni government official, says Umar Farouk Abdul-mutallab, was in Yemen from early August to early December this year, after receiving a visa to study Arabic in a school in the capital, Sa-na'a.

Hassan Al-Lozy, Yemeni Information Minister, said, "We haven't received any further information concerning this person, that is to say, he is not on the Yemeni list of most wanted suspected terrorists. He only visited Yemen twice; his first visit was in 2004 and it lasted till 2005 and the second visit was last August and he left during the last week of December. He came under the pretense of studying the Arabic language."

Yemen's Foreign Ministry, says Abdul-mutallab had been granted a visa after authorities were reassured he had "several visas from a number of friendly countries," including a valid visa to the United States, which he had visited in the past.

The Yemeni embassy in Washington had been instructed not to issue any more visas to students who wanted to study in the country without Interior Ministry approval.

Yemen, says the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a US jet had lived in Yemen at two different times.(CCTV.com)