The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has stated that the Yemeni authorities decided to unleash four Egyptians who were arrested in Sana'a on charges of linking to Al-Qaeda. A spokesman of the ministry Amr Roshdi said that the release decision came as a result of efforts exerted by the ministry to release the Egyptian nationals, pointing out that the Egyptian Foreign Minister sent a letter to his Yemeni counterpart, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, about the four arrestees.
He affirmed that Egypt wants to receive the Egyptians as soon as possible, pointing out t hat the Yemeni officially positively responded.
Roshidi further said that the Egyptian Ambassador to Yemen, Ashraf Aqal, informed them that the Yemeni authorities decided to release the four Egyptians and that Yemen was completing procedures of repatriation.
Yemen had citied that the authorities arrested a number of foreigners who fought with al-Qaeda in Abyan in some districts of the southern governorate of Abyan.
The Yemeni authorities stated in July that it arrested a terrorist cell comprised of four Egyptians, two Jordanians, one Tunisian, one Somali and one Dagestan.
The Yemeni army stated that foreigners were among those who were killed, injured and arrested during its offensive conducted against al-Qaeda strongholds in Abyan.
Last month, the authorities arrested more than a dozen terrorist cells including the one behind the deadly suicide bombing attack targeting a military parade rehearsal in the capital Sanaa in May.