Saudi Says Qaida Holding Diplomat Kidnapped in Yemen

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula militants are holding a Saudi diplomat kidnapped in Yemen's southern city of Aden, in a bid to secure the release of prisoners and collect a ransom, the kingdom's state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.

An AQAP member confirmed in a telephone call to the Saudi ambassador in Sanaa that the group "is responsible for the kidnapping of the deputy consul in Aden, saying that their demands include handing over several prisoners to members of the network in Yemen," SPA said.

On March 28, a police official in Aden said unidentified gunmen seized Abdullah al-Khalidi outside his home, and Saudi Arabia confirmed the kidnapping.

"The network's emir (leader)... Nasser al-Wuhaishy... has asked me to contact you," Meshaal al-Shadokhi, a Saudi wanted by authorities, told the ambassador, according to excerpts of a telephone conversation quoted by SPA.

Shadokhi, who said the deputy consul is "well", demanded the release of all members of the network detained in the kingdom, among them females.

He mentioned the names of six women, among them Heila al-Qsayer, known as "al-Qaida lady" for being the first woman in the kingdom jailed for involvement in violence by the jihadist network.

In October, Qsayer was sentenced to 15 years in jail followed by a 15-year travel ban.

In June 2010, Saeed al-Shihri, a prominent Saudi leader of AQAP, urged supporters in Saudi Arabia to kidnap Christians and Saudi princes to press for her release.

The group also demanded that the kingdom pay a "ransom worth an amount to be agreed on later," Shadokhi said.

The caller also threatened that "today a consul is abducted, tomorrow an embassy will explode and later a prince (might) get killed."

The statement, by an interior ministry spokesman, said that "the kingdom rejects and condemns such terrorist acts ... holding whoever stands behind this criminal act complete responsibility over the safety of" Khalidi, urging his release.

Khalidi is the third Saudi national to be kidnapped in Yemen in as many years.

In April 2011, tribesmen kidnapped a Saudi diplomat in the capital Sanaa in an apparent bid to settle a trade dispute involving a Saudi businessman.

Saeed al-Maliki, a second secretary at the Saudi embassy, was released nine days later.

And in November 2010, gunmen kidnapped a Saudi doctor in north Yemen and demanded the release of nine jailed members of al-Qaida.

Dhafer al-Shihri, acting head of Al-Salam Hospital in Saada city, was released the same day after tribal mediation.

Militants with ties to al-Qaida have exploited the weakening central government in Sanaa to strengthen their presence in Yemen, launching deadly attacks against security forces, especially across the restive south and southeast.

Saudi Arabia itself witnessed a wave of deadly attacks by al-Qaida between 2003 and 2006, which prompted authorities to launch a crackdown on the local branch of the jihadist network founded by slain Saudi-born Osama bin Laden.