Cargo bomb plot sparks Yemen hunt for al Qaeda

Yemen today charged the suspected al Qaeda mastermind behind a wave of attacks on the West with plotting to kill foreigners in a crackdown prompted by the cargo bomb plot.

Anwar al-Awlaki, a US born cleric, who is on a hitlist of wanted terrorists, was also accused of being a member of al Qaeda in the first formal legal action taken against him by the Yemeni authorities. He was charged in his absence.

At the same time, government officials revealed that a major operation was under way to find Ibrahim al-Asiri, the suspected Saudi bombmaker responsible for the two devices used in the cargo bomb plot, who is also in hiding in Yemen. The moves came as Yemen continued to come under heavy pressure to crack down on al Qaeda militants sheltering in the country in the wake of the interception of two bombs found in air freight in Dubai and Britain.

The charges against Awlaki, who is alleged to have helped the failed Detroit "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, were announced by Yemeni prosecutor Ali al-Saneaa.

Awlaki is believed to be sheltering in a mountainous region of Yemen.