SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Yemen Deputy Interior Minister Motahar Masri said an inquiry into the mass escape of al-Qaida prisoners is progressing and recapture is but a "matter of time."
Masri told reporters in Sanaa Friday that "the investigation is continuing and the security agencies are capable of capturing the escapees and bringing back to prison as they seized in the past."
The escape of 23 al-Qaida prisoners from the central intelligence prison in Sanaa last week sparked international and regional uproar, and U.S. congressmen went as far as asking Washington to intervene in the investigation.
At least 13 of the escapees were convicted in the bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden in October 2000, killing 17 U.S. servicemen, and in the attack on a giant French tanker, the Limburg, two years later.
Security sources said police rounded up 200 relatives of the escapees and several people, including security members, who are suspected to have helped the prisoners escape.
Masri said Yemen proved to be very efficient in dealing with terrorism issues and security forces succeeded in several occasions to capture terror suspects.
He said the investigation is expected to lead to positive results and help recapture the escapees. "It is only a matter of time," he added.
Among the most notorious escapees is Jamal Badawi, the mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole.
Following 9-11, Washington dispatched military and security advisors to Yemen to train government forces on hunting down al-Qaida operatives who are believed to have taken a foothold in the poor Arab Gulf country.
