SANAA, Yemen, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Yemen's ruling People General Congress party said Tuesday the al-Qaida network does not exist in Yemen, brushing aside Israeli accusations as "nonsense."
The party said on its Web Site "no dormant or non-dormant cells existed in the country," stressing Yemen is an international partner in the war against terrorism.
It was responding to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's claims al-Qaida activists in Yemen and Saudi Arabia could be behind the bombings of Taba, in which dozens were killed and wounded.
Sharon said he ordered the Israeli intelligence, Mossad, to dispatch agents to Yemen and Saudi to liquidate the alleged al-Qaida operatives.
"These are stupid and nonsense allegations," the ruling Yemeni party said in a statement.
"These leaks and claims are too light and unreasonable to be taken seriously, especially since Yemen is a partner in the international war on terrorism and facts prove that no cells for the evil al-Qaida network exist in Yemen," the statement added.
"Such Israeli allegations cannot shake Yemen's international standing especially that it is a country that has suffered from terrorism, combated the evil and defeated it."
