The mysterious escape of 23 dangerous al-Qaida operatives from a high-security prison in Yemen is bound to further strain U.S.-Yemeni relations.
Observers expressed fears that the flight of the convicted terrorists will increase tensions in relations between Sanaa and Washington, and expose serious deficiencies in the Yemeni security system.
"We do not know exactly what is going on behind the scenes in terms of reactions to the incident and its direct impact on Yemeni-U.S. relations, which have been extremely tense in the past phase," said political commentator and journalist Mounir Mawri.
"But one thing is certain is that regardless of the explanations of the incident, it will have sequels and consequences that should be taken seriously inside and outside Yemen," Mawri told the local English-language daily News.
U.S. anti-terror agencies, which are strongly present and rooted in Yemen, have not shown any special concern over the mass escape of al-Qaida operatives, including the main plotter of the attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden in October 2000 in which 17 U.S. servicemen perished.
Official sources disclosed that 18 of the 23 al-Qaida operatives were tried and convicted in terrorist attacks, including the attack on the USS Cole and the French giant tanker, the Limburg. They were also convicted of forming terrorist cells and plotting to carry out attacks on foreign targets, especially American.
