Al-Qaida linked to oil attacks in Yemen?

SANAA, Yemen, July 8 (UPI) -- Yemeni police are investigating two militants suspected of plotting attacks on oil pipelines following a similar attack on targets in southern Shabwa province.

Police in the Khawlan district, east of the capital Sanaa, said they thwarted an attack on a regional oil pipeline. Two suspects were detained on allegations of digging tunnels under the pipeline with the intent of detonating an explosive device by remote control, the Yemen Observer reports.

An attack July 2 that damaged about 525 feet of pipeline in Shabwa bore similar hallmarks as those alleged by the two suspects investigated by Khawlan police.

Security officials believe the pipeline attacks are carried out by the so-called Southern Movement, which is thought to have connections to al-Qaida.

Meanwhile, Yemen is facing economic uncertainty due to a general decline in oil production. The Central Bank of Yemen has reported that exports over the past year declined from 2.2 million barrels to 2.1 million, while oil revenue declined overall in the first quarter of 2009 to $483.2 million, down from $2.1 billion during the same period in 2008.

The government said it was examining non-oil investments as an alternative.