The Yemeni authorities arrested on Thursday Suleiman Hassan Muhammad Morshid Awadh, known as Abu Osama Al-Abi, the leader in the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemeni interior ministry reported.
The arrest took place in the University block in Zinjibar, the capital of the southern Abyan province where the Yemeni army launched a US-backed offensive and drove the militants of Al-Qaeda and its offshoot, the Ansar Al-Sharia, out of their strongholds, the ministry said.
Abu Osama was one of the most dangerous and most wanted terrorists and has been involved in many terrorist operations in the country, according to the ministry.
He has been turned over to investigators, it said.
The Yemeni authorities are continuing a massive hunt for the remaining militants of Al-Qaeda with direct support from the US whose drones have recently targeted many Al-Qaeda operatives mainly in southern and southeastern regions.