The Yemeni security authorities said that two Yemeni men on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda network were killed and three were captured during the manhunt carried out by Yemeni security forces during a raid at the men's hideout northern Sana'a late on Friday.
Two security officers and a woman that was in a nearby house were also wounded in the two-hour exchange of fire, which broke out when security forces broke into a one-storey house in the Rawdah district of the capital.
"The operation is still going on and the security forces are combing the Rawdah suburb to make sure there are no other members of that group" a security officer said.
According to AP sources, the three captured al-Qaeda suspects are Abid al-Thawr, Seyf Mohamed, and Abu Habbabi. Among the killed was Yahya Saleh Al-Mujalli (Abu Seyf), who was killed when he attempted to escape the security forces that surrounded his home.
Yemeni authorities have repeatedly said that it is expanding its operations in chasing al-Qaeda suspects throughout the country, especially in tribal areas where they are thought to be protected by tribesmen.
On another level, Foreign Minister Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi had said that the government has implemented a number of measures to track possible terrorist networks in the country and bring them to justice. Among those measures was the establishment of thirteen security offices in remote areas to facilitate the mission of the security forces in their manhunt.
On another level, a US government lawyer said that the six U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent alleged to be members of an al Qaeda cell must stay in jail to ensure public safety. This was said at Friday's third day of hearings to determine whether the accused will be freed on bail or await trial behind bars.
US authorities had said that two other men from Lackawanna, identified as Kamal Derwish and Jaber Elbaneh, are reported to be in Yemen. US authorities believe Derwish was the group's leader, who encouraged the men to travel to Afghanistan for training.
This comes at a time Yemen expressed its keenness to shake off its reputation as a haven for Muslim militants and has said it was holding 85 people arrested in a manhunt for members of al-Qaeda, blamed by Washington for the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Sanaa on Wednesday dismissed reports that U.S. special forces may launch covert operations in Yemen against militants believed to have fled Afghanistan. It said it would use only its own troops to hunt down al-Qaeda suspects.
Yemen's parliament last week set up a commission to probe alleged human rights violations by Yemeni security forces in their crackdown on supporters of Saudi-born dissident bin Laden.
Amnesty International has said thousands of people had been detained, including children as young as 12, academics and journalists

A Yemeni official spokesman has on Saturday expressed his government's regret for the statement given by an Eritrean government spokesman to The Middle East newspaper published on 19 Sept. 2002 and reported by Modern Eritrea newspaper on 21 Sept. 2002.
The Eritrean spokesman had accused Yemen of "offending" his country as part of a diplomatic campaign, claiming that "Yemen has for four months been standing behind attempts for creating tension and fabricating crises between the two countries."
The Yemeni official spokesman strongly denies the Eritrean allegations describing them as groundless and expressed his amazement for issuing such statements at this very time. The Yemeni statement mentioned that Yemen has during the recent months been exercising self-restraint towards the Eritrean authorities' repeated provocations especially against Yemeni fishermen by arresting them and seizing their boats and fish.
The Yemeni republic has worked for tackling this question calmly and through diplomatic channels out of its keenness on brotherly relations of the two peoples, the Yemeni spokesman added.
The Yemeni official spokesman maintained that it was regrettable that the Eritrean side insisted on giving mistaken interpretations for the arbitration resolutions on the concept of traditional fishing. Such explanations are lacking of any legal reason and deemed a violation of the texts of the two decisions taken by the arbitration body on 9 October 1998 and 17 December 1999. The decisions stated that the two countries' citizens have the full right to traditional fishery in the region situated to the south of the Red Sea, of which the two countries have accepted. The Yemeni government has, at various levels, worked rectifying the Eritrean wrong understanding, out of its keenness on stability of security and peace in the region. Yemen has also accepted the Eritrean president's proposal of resorting to a third party chosen by the two countries to offer a final and obligatory interpretation for the question of traditional fishery.
The spokesman concluded his statement by affirming Yemen's desire to resolve all issues of dispute related to the subject in quest in a way leading to the two countries' heading for developing and enhancing bilateral cooperation in all areas in service of the two peoples' interests and strengthening security, stability and peace in the South Red Sea region.
The Eritrean government had Thursday accused Yemen of launching a hostile diplomatic campaign against it, claiming of having Israeli and American bases on its territories. An Eritrean statement published Thursday in the London-based Middle East newspaper mentioned " in a new development, an Eritrean government source disclosed yesterday that the Yemeni government has been for some months sending emissaries to various capitals aimed at offending his country, " and that the Yemeni campaign included false accusations against his country. The Eritrean statement mentioned " this campaign contains news on tension in the relations of two countries because of Eritrea's refusal to recognize the right of traditional fishing by Yemeni fishermen in Eritrea's regional waters, as well as fabricated news on the Eritrean authorities detention of Yemeni fishermen and unreal clashes between the countries' troops.
On the other hand the Eritrean statement stressed Eritrea's keenness on good neighborly relations between the two countries. The Eritrean source has also denied the presence of any foreign bases in his country, describing Yemen's claims as incorrect and serving political purposes

A number of Yemeni intellectuals, MPs, and journalists called for resisting the consequences of the September 11 attacks and their impact on human rights in Yemen. In a round- table meeting organized Thursday by Arabic Sisters Forum for Human Rights, the participants demanded for active role on the part of political parties, NGOs and intellectuals to resist violations of human rights under the pretext of the war on terrorism.
Mohammed al-Sabri, political analyst, said the Yemeni government has gone to the extreme in abusing human rights in a way violating the Constitution. He stressed that in the light of the US war on terrorism, human rights in the Islamic and Arab countries will backslide considerably and if any country refuses this US concept it will face the fate Iraq is facing and will be target of the US military attacks. He called for a joint effort by political parties, NGOs, intellectuals, journalists and opinion makers to face the impact of the September 11 incidents.
Mohammed Najji Allaw criticized the political parties for keeping mute towards government violations of human rights and rights of the detainees. He called for legalization of any measures the government intends to carry out in the war on terrorism.
The government should pass laws in this respect, calling for resisting the US plan and making the world hear the voice of Yemen in this regard. However, Mohammed al-Tayib, Head of Human Rights, Liberties and Civil Society Committee at the Shura Council, said the government arrests were for security purposes only and that those who are being held are not wanted by the US. Those who are wanted are on the run. He also said the US administration was serious about striking Yemen after the September 11, adding that even some extremists at the US administration were opposing even meeting President Saleh when he visited the US last November. But, the Yemeni leadership could know how to absorb this American anger and escape many problems Yemen was to face. He said the Americans had wrong information about al-qaeda presence in Yemen and that Yemen went into a limited scope of security cooperation with the USA. But, he said the fate of the region, human rights and democracy are hanging in the balance and that the Americans did not want only to crack down on al-qaeda but also changing the cultures and political systems that have produced al-qaeda elements as well as reshaping up the map of the whole region.
Hamoud Munasser,writer and political analyst, called on all political systems and people to join forces and defend themselves against the dilapidations of the September 11 incidents through a clear and long- term strategy.
Other participants highlighted the economic impact of these attacks. Amal Basha , head of the host forum said the attacks increased the number of the poor as the attacks have damaged tourism and other businesses. She also called for creating a general awareness of human rights and strategy to defend them.