Yemeni officials: Al-Qaida suspect tricked guards

SAN'A, Yemen - An American al-Qaida suspect detained in Yemen fooled his hospital guards into unshackling him by asking to join them for prayers, security officials said yesterday. He then killed a guard who laid down his weapon as he went ahead at prayer time.

The 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 terror 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-Qaida 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, who grew up in Buena, N.J., had traveled to Yemen two years ago and was recently arrested there in a sweep that netted 10 other al-Qaida suspects.

Mobley made his escape attempt March 7 after being transferred from prison to a hospital in the capital, San'a, for medical treatment. He tried to shoot his way out of the hospital, killing a 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 placed in his leg in the past. He was at the hospital for a week.

The officials agreed to discuss details of Mobley's attempted escape on condition of anonymity because the investigation has not finished.

At the hospital, Mobley befriended his guards and asked them to teach him Arabic. He performed prayers and read the Quran with them.

Then a week ago, the officials said, Mobley asked his guard to unshackle him from his hospital bed at prayer time. The guard did and then went into a washroom ahead of Mobley to perform ritual ablutions required before the five daily prayers in Islam, leaving his gun unattended.

Mobley snatched the gun and shot the guard twice - first in the head, then in the chest - as he walked out of the washroom.

When a second guard outside heard the shots, he rushed in.

Mobley shot him in the kidney and abdomen, leaving him in serious condition. Mobley was then chased around the hospital until he surrendered.