Yemen says arrests suspected Qaeda militant

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni security forces have arrested a suspected al Qaeda member along with four comrades in the east of the Arabian Peninsula country, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

It identified the man as Haitham bin Saad and said he was arrested in the Hadramout region, an Islamist stronghold.

"Those arrested are in custody in a prison run by state security in Sayun district to be later moved to Sanaa," a state-affiliated website (www.26sep.net) quoted the ministry as saying.

The ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, Yemen joined the U.S.-led "war on terror" after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks but is still viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants.

It has jailed dozens of militants for involvement in bombings of Western targets and clashes with authorities.