Slain al-Qaida suspect related to Sept. 11 hijacker

SAN'A, Yemen -- A suspected al-Qaida member who accidentally blew himself up after being cornered by security forces in a San'a suburb was related to one of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers, Yemeni security officials said Thursday.

Sameer Mohammed Ahmed al-Hada, who died in the confrontation with police Wednesday, was a brother-in-law of Khalid Almihdhar, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The FBI has identified Almihdhar as a 26-year-old Saudi who was among five hijackers aboard the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. Almihdhar also was caught on a surveillance video, shot in Malaysia, with one of the suspects in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in a Yemeni port.

Al-Hada, 25, was also a brother-in-law of one of 17 men named by the FBI in an alert issued Monday warning of a possible terrorist attack in Yemen or the United States, according to a U.S. government source, speaking on the condition of anonymity. They did not say which of the 17 was al-Hada's brother-in-law.

The Yemeni security officials said al-Hada had been under surveillance for more than a week.

al-Qaida family

They said al-Hada had a brother, whom they didn't identify further, who was an explosives expert.

He was killed in Afghanistan, the officials said, without providing further details.

Al-Hada was the son of Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada, a known al-Qaida operative, according to a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. However, the suspect's name does not appear on a U.S.-produced list of Yemenis believed to be al-Qaida members.

The officials said when al-Hada realized security forces were closing in on him, he fled his house and took a taxi along with his wife and two other men.

He was chased through the streets of San'a and a gunbattle ensued. Al-Hada attempted to throw a grenade at police and it exploded in his hand, the officials said.

His wife tried to flee but was captured. The two men accompanying him escaped, the officials said.

Police arrested a man who was sitting in a car outside al-Hada's house at the time, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

No further details on the arrest were available.

The explosion near San'a University came two days after the FBI issued a warning of more terrorist attacks -- either in the United States or against U.S. interests in Yemen. It identified 17 men believed to be involved in the plans.