US urges Yemen to hand over terrorism suspects

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official urged Yemen's president Thursday to hand over two al-Qaida suspects convicted in Yemen but wanted by Washington, a U.S. Embassy official said.

Kenneth Wainstein, homeland security adviser to President Bush, also told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh that he should undertake serious measures to combat terrorism, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

"We need strong and serious measures to be carried out in Yemeni courts to try the terrorists and to hold them accountable," the official quoted Wainstein as saying.

Thursday's meeting came only three days after Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu-Bakr al-Qirbi said the country's constitution bars it from handing over Jaber Elbaneh, a Yemeni-American convicted of planning attacks on oil installations in Yemen, and Jamal al-Badawi, convicted of masterminding the 2000 al-Qaida bombing of the USS Cole.

The issue has strained relations between the two countries.

Washington has indicted al-Badawi and wants to try him for the Cole bombing in the U.S., but it is seeking Elbaneh's extradition on different charges.

Washington has offered a $5 million reward for Elbaneh, who has been indicted in the U.S. for conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

Although both men have been convicted in Yemen, the U.S. has accused the Mideast nation of leniency since its courts commuted their death sentences to prison time.

Elbaneh is currently appealing his 10-year sentence. The U.S. was angered when Yemen initially set him free during the appeals process. A court returned him to a maximum security prison in May.

The United States also was flustered by the commutation of al-Badawi's death sentence to 15 years in prison, which followed media claims that he was granted his freedom after allegedly pledging loyalty to Yemen's president. San'a officials later said al-Badawi remains in custody.

But after the incident, Washington froze U.S. aid to Yemen through the Millennium Challenge Corp., a U.S. agency that distributes foreign aid based on countries' efforts at good governance.

Yemen is Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland and has an active al-Qaida presence despite government efforts to destroy the network. The country considers itself a strong partner with the United States in the fight against terrorism, and U.S. officials say Yemeni intelligence services have been helpful since the Cole attack.

At the same time, U.S. officials grumble about what they call a history of lax detention policies. In 2004, al-Badawi escaped from prison but later turned himself in.