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More than 30 people have been killed in Yemen after a suspected suicide bomber has struck a village in the southern province of Abyan.

Dozens more were wounded in the attack on a funeral service in the city of Jaar, Yemeni officials said.

Military officials told Associated Press the funeral was for a man linked to militias which had helped the army in their fight against al-Qaeda.

They said five suspected al-Qaeda militants had been killed earlier in the day.

The men were killed in a suspected US drone strike on their vehicle in Hadramawt province.

More than 30 people have been killed in Yemen after a suspected suicide bomber has struck a village in the southern province of Abyan

More than 30 people have been killed in Yemen after a suspected suicide bomber has struck a village in the southern province of Abyan

Local governor Jamal al-Aqal said in a statement that an investigation had been opened into the “criminal and cowardly” attack on the funeral service.

A witness told the AFP news agency that “the suicide bomber belonged to the al-Qaeda network”.

The Yemeni army carried out a major offensive against Islamist militants in Abyan earlier this year, taking control of the region in June with the help of civilian militias comprised of local tribesmen.

Separatist unrest and al-Qaeda-linked militants such as Ansar al-Sharia have plagued the south for years.

 

FBI has arrested a man near the US Capitol building as part of an anti-terror investigation, US officials say.

Amine El Khalifi, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia was taken into custody by the FBI.

Officials told US media the man thought he was heading to carry out a suicide attack on the Washington DC building, home to the US Congress.

El Khalifi was “closely and carefully monitored” for weeks, according to the FBI and US Capitol police.

Authorities say the public was never in any danger.

El Khalifi allegedly thought undercover FBI agents he was working with were members of the al-Qaeda network.

However, he was not believed to have any known existing connections to al-Qaeda, officials said.

FBI has arrested a man near the US Capitol building as part of an anti-terror investigation

FBI has arrested a man near the US Capitol building as part of an anti-terror investigation

El Khalifi was said to have overstayed a visitor visa for years, and was under investigation for more than a year, according to the Associated Press news agency.

He carried a vest he thought was packed with explosives, reports said, but had in fact been supplied and made harmless by undercover agents.

“Explosives the suspect allegedly sought to use in connection with the plot had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public,” a spokesman for the US Justice Department said.

El Khalifi was not arrested on the Capitol grounds and had been under surveillance for several weeks, AP reported.

US law enforcement officials routinely carry out sting operations in an effort to stop potential terror suspects.

In one of the most recent incidents, in September 2011, 26-year-old US citizen Rezwan Ferdaus was arrested for allegedly plotting to fly explosive-packed, remote controlled planes into the Pentagon and the Capitol building.

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