Suspect in Attack on American Missionaries Moved to Yemeni Capital

SAN'A, Yemen – The Islamic militant accused of killing three American missionaries was moved Friday under tight security to the Yemeni capital, where he will face more questioning, security officials said.

Heavily armed police transferred Abed Abdul Razak Kamel from the remote southern Yemen village of Jibla, where Monday's slayings at a Baptist-run hospital took place, to the main intelligence headquarters in San`a.

Yemeni officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move will give U.S. officials better access to Kamel.

U.S. authorities have not had access to Kamel or his suspected collaborator, Ali al-Jarallah, who is accused of gunning down Jarallah Omar, deputy leader of Yemen's Socialist Party, last week.

But American diplomats have said Yemeni investigators are cooperating with the United States.

Investigators believe al-Jarallah and Kamel belong to a larger cell that was planning attacks against at least eight targets, including foreigners and Yemeni political leaders.

The dead Americans were missionaries Kathleen A. Gariety, Martha C. Myers and William E. Koehn. Donald W. Caswell was shot but survived.

So far, no charges have been filed and it was unclear how many detainees were believed to be directly linked to any alleged attack plans. About 30 people have been arrested.

Officials have said they believe Kamel is linked to Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, which has found a fertile recruiting ground in Yemen.

Al Qaeda has been linked to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen, an attack that left 17 U.S. sailors dead, and is suspected in an attack on a French tanker in October that killed one person.

While Yemen's government has cooperated with the United States in its global war on terror, anti-American sentiment is high in this lawless country on the Arabian Peninsula because of Washington's perceived support for Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians and its standoff with Iraq.