SANAA (AFP) – Yemeni security forces arrested 11 Al-Qaeda suspects in a residential area of the capital Sanaa, killing one man during the operation, the defence ministry’s 26sep.net news website has reported.

The man killed, who was the father of one of the suspects, opened fire on security forces, wounding one of them, before being shot dead, the website said.

One of the suspects also tried to resist but “all members of the cell were arrested,” it added.

Yemen began an intensified campaign against Al-Qaeda in late December as international pressure mounted after a failed attempt to blow up a US airliner on December 25 was claimed by the militant network’s Yemeni arm.

US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said Yemen is the one part of the Middle East where Al-Qaeda remains a growing threat.