Six al-Qaeda suspects who were tried in Yemen for allegedly plotting attacks on western targets in Gulf States were today sentenced to up to four years in prison, while two others were acquitted.
Iraqi ringleader Anwar al-Jilani, 20, was sentenced to four years, while the five others, including Yemeni and Syrian nationals, received sentences ranging from two years to 38 months.
The eight were accused of planning attacks on the British and Italian embassies in Sanaa as well as the French cultural centre.
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has cracked down on militants since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US and has cooperated closely with the US-led war on terrorism.
It has captured and sentenced several al-Qaeda followers, including those behind the 2000 USS Cole bombing and the 2002 attack on the French vessel Limburg.
