Sanaa, Sept 20 (ZEENEWS.COM) Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh announced on Tuesday the arrest of a "terrorist" -- allegedly linked to his main election rival and to Osama Bin Laden -- accused of plotting attacks against US interests.

"We have arrested a major terrorist who was planning operations against American installations and the Movenpick hotel," Saleh said at a press conference on the eve of the presidential poll.

He said the suspect was a bodyguard for Faisal Bin Shamlan, his main challenger in tomorrow`s presidential race.

Saleh`s private secretary Abdo Burji said the suspect, Hussein al-Jerdani, was arrested on Sunday and had close links with the al-Qaeda terror chief.

"He was a companion of Osama Bin Laden and is the owner of a house rented to a cell which recently tried to launch attacks against oil installations in Yemen," Burji added.

Four bombers and a security guard were killed Friday when Yemeni security forces foiled twin suicide bombings against an oil refinery in Maarib, in the desert east of the capital Sanaa, and a Canadian-run terminal in the port of N Dhabba on the Gulf of Aden.

The government announced Saturday the arrest of four Yemeni "terrorists" linked to al-Qaeda who it said was planning attacks on Sanaa.

Friday`s attacks came after Bin Laden`s right-hand man Ayman al-Zawahiri warned that the Gulf and Israel would be the next targets of al-Qaeda, in a video message coinciding with the fifth anniversary Monday of the September 11 attacks on the United States.