SANA, Yemen — An American al-Qaeda suspect detained in Yemen fooled his hospital guards into unshackling him by asking to join them for prayers, security officials said Saturday. He then killed a guard who laid down his weapon as he went ahead at prayer time.
New details of Sharif Mobley’s failed escape attempt, obtained by The Associated Press, indicate the 26-year-old American of Somali descent has a level of training and cunning characteristic of the terrorist network.
The story of a young American Muslim drawn to Yemen, ostensibly to study Arabic, has once again demonstrated the reach of the country’s year-old al-Qaeda offshoot, which was behind the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an airliner as it approached Detroit. The suspect in that attack, a young Nigerian Muslim, went to Yemen and used Arabic study as a cover, Yemeni authorities have said.
Mobley had traveled to Yemen two years ago and was recently arrested there in a sweep that netted 10 other al-Qaeda suspects.
Mobley made his escape attempt March 7 after being transferred from prison to a hospital in the capital, Sana, for medical treatment. He tried to shoot his way out of the hospital, killing one guard and seriously injuring another before being recaptured.
Two senior Yemeni officials involved in Mobley’s case said he was being treated for complications from a metal rod implanted in his leg sometime in the past. The prison doctor had asked to transfer him to the hospital, where he stayed for a week.
The officials agreed to discuss details of Mobley’s attempted escape on condition of anonymity because the investigation has not finished.
