Yemeni court jails U.S. national for links with al-Qaida

A Yemeni court in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday sentenced a U.S. national to ten years in prison for having links with al-Qaida and killing a Yemeni security officer, a judicial source said.

"The security court sentenced U.S. citizen Sharif Mobley to 10 years in prison after he was convicted to have ink links with al-Qaida, and to pay blood money for killing a security guard," said the source.

The source said Mobley trial was held in high-level security measures.

In 2010, Mobley traveled along with his wife and a baby daughter to Sanaa to study Arabic language, but later was arrested by Yemeni security forces for alleged suspicion of having links to al-Qaida.

In May 2010, Mobley was brought from the intelligence prison to a hospital for treatment, where he attempted to escape by shooting his way out of the hospital, killing one guard.

Mobley was also charged with injuring another guard when he snatched a weapon from one of the guards and opened fire at them to flee.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State.