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US Embassy in Yemen Closes Due To al-Qaida Threat

   The  U.S.  embassy  in the capital Sana'a issued a message to American
   citizens in Yemen, urging them to remain vigilant

   VOA News 03 January 2010
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Photo: AP

   A  Yemeni soldier stands guard in front of the main entrance of the US
   Embassy, 18 Sept. 2008 file photo

   The  U.S. Embassy in Yemen says it is closed Sunday because of ongoing
   threats  by  the  group  al-Qaida  in the Arabian Peninsula "to attack
   American interests" in the country.
   The  short news release issued by the embassy in Sana'a Sunday did not
   say if the closure was in response to any specific threat.
   The  statement  said that on Thursday, the embassy issued a message to
   American  citizens  in Yemen, urging them to remain vigilant amid "the
   continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence" against Americans
   throughout the world.
   In  another  development, Britain has agreed with the United States to
   fund  a  counter-terrorism  police unit in Yemen as part of stepped-up
   efforts  to  combat  the  terror threat from that country following an
   al-Qaida plot to bomb a U.S. airliner.
   British  Prime  Minister  Gordon  Brown's  office  issued  a statement
   Saturday saying Britain and the U.S. will also cooperate in supporting
   the Yemeni coast guard.
   Mr.  Brown  says he and U.S. President Barack Obama also want to see a
   larger  peace-keeping force in Somalia to tackle violent radicalism in
   the region.
   The  British prime minister announced Friday he will host a high-level
   international meeting on Yemen late this month.
   The  Nigerian  who was arrested for trying to blow up a U.S. passenger
   jet on Christmas day as it approached the U.S. city of Detroit says he
   was trained by al-Qaida in Yemen.
   Also  Saturday,  U.S.  General  David  Petraeus discussed the security
   situation in Yemen with President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
   Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, recently said
   the  U.S.  would  nearly  double  the $70 million it sends to Yemen in
   security assistance.
   Yemeni  officials  said  Saturday that extra security forces have been
   deployed to eastern provinces where al-Qaida militants operate.
   On Friday, the Somali Islamic extremist insurgent group al-Shabab said
   it  was  sending fighters to Yemen to help al-Qaida there.  Yemen said
   it will not tolerate foreign terrorists on its soil.
   A  senior  al-Shabab  official, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour, also
   called on Muslims in other countries to join the fight.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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