SANAA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- It seems Yemen has become a new front in the fight against extremism as the U.S. and British embassies in the country closed on Sunday in response to threats of possible attacks by al-Qaida affiliates.
The British embassy asked its staff to stay at home on Sunday, well-placed sources told local News Yemen, citing security reasons behind the closure. The sources did not say when the mission would be reopened.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. embassy in Sanaa was closed over what it said threats by Yemen's al-Qaida affiliate to attack U.S. interests in the country.
"The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa is closed today, Jan. 3, 2010, in response to ongoing threats by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen," a statement on the embassy website said, without saying how long the embassy would be closed.
The closures followed an announcement by Britain that it and the United States have agreed to fund a special counter-terrorism unit in Yemen in a bid to prevent al-Qaida from taking the impoverished country as a safe haven.
Following the decisions of the United States and Britain to close their embassies, Spain also decided on Sunday to close its embassy in Yemen on Monday and Tuesday over the threat of al-Qaida attack.
According to media reports, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said that its embassy in Yemen remains "operating," but access to its facilities has been restricted for security reasons.
Spain opened its embassy in Yemen in April 2006. In July 2007, eight Spanish tourists died in an attack attributed to al-Qaida.
Yemeni soldiers stand guard in front of the U.S. Embassy in the capital Sanaa, Yemen, in this Sept. 18, 2008 file photo. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Yemeni southern provinces, especially the mountainous areas of Shabwa, al-Baidha and Aden, have been recently witnessing an increasing presence and growing strength of al-Qaida militants.
Last month, Yemeni officials said raids against AQAP hideouts in the southern province of Abyan and Arhab district to the northeast of Sanaa left 34 militants killed and dozens of others arrested.
The AQAP, Yemen's branch of the terrorist group, has vowed to retaliate.
While Sanaa said the raids were conducted by Yemeni troops, the group blamed the United States and vowed to target U.S. interests in the country located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
U.S. President Barack Obama accused the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula of arming and training a Nigerian, who was involved in a failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. aircraft.
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the failed attack and called for strikes on embassies in Yemen.
U.S. SUPPORTS YEMENI FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
During a meeting with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan General David Petraeus said Saturday his country supports Yemen in its fight against terrorism, Yemeni Saba news agency reported.
Saleh said the two countries have been increasingly cooperating in combating terrorism.
"The republic which has been suffering from terrorism for long will continue its efforts to combat terrorism in cooperation with the international society," Saleh said.
According to a report published by the Washington Post, the U.S. military assistance to Yemen would be almost doubled this year. In the meantime, Britain said it will host an international meeting later in January to prevent the Arab nation from becoming a stronghold for al-Qaida.
Meanwhile, Yemen on Sunday dismissed reports by U.S. media saying that it signed a deal with the United States that allows the latter to launch attacks against al-Qaida hideouts in Yemeni territory.
"There are no agreements with the United States in this regard, and there are no proposed plans towards this end," Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Kurbi told local al-Syasiya daily in an interview.
The Yemeni minister said that any counter-terrorism cooperation with a foreign country revolves around intelligence and training, not coordination for joint strikes.
At the same time, a top Yemeni security official said that reports about soaring strength of the al-Qaida terrorist group in the country were "exaggerated."
Yemen is not a safe haven for al-Qaida militants, head of Yemen's national security agency Ali al-Anisi told state-run Saba news agency.
The recent attacks against al-Qaida have thwarted planned attacks on vital domestic and foreign interests in the country, he added.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Citing threats by al-Qaeda in Yemen, the United States closed its embassy in the country on Sunday.
John Brennan, U.S. President Barack Obama's assistant for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, speaks during an interview on Fox News Sunday in Washington Jan. 3, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa is closed today, Jan. 3, 2010, in response to ongoing threats by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen," said the embassy in a statement. Full story
PARIS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- France's Foreign Ministry announced Monday that it temporarily closed the embassy in Yemen due to potential terrorism attack by the Al-Qaeda group. Full story
LONDON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Britain has agreed to continue working hand-in-glove with the United States to tackle the evolving threats of terrorism from Yemen and Somalia, the prime minister's office said on Sunday.
Both Britain and the United States have already provided support and funding to the Yemeni authorities to help in their efforts to combat the terrorist threat. Measures include support for a special counter-terrorist police unit and for the Yemeni coastguard operation. Full story
MADRID, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Spain decided to close its embassy in Yemen on Monday and Tuesday over the threat of a possible attack by al-Qaeda, Spain's foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The local press quoted the Spanish foreign ministry as saying that its embassy in Yemen remains "operating", but access to its facilities has been restricted for security reasons. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed Saturday in Hawaii that the failed attack on a Detroit-bound plane over Christmas was linked to an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen.
"The investigation into the Christmas Day incident continues, and we're learning more about the suspect (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab)," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address released by the White House on Saturday. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A White House advisor defended the U.S. intelligence community's counterterrorism efforts on Sunday, saying they did not miss "smoking gun" leading to the plot to blow up a U.S. international flight on Christmas.
"There is no smoking gun," said John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top advisor on counterterrorism affairs, in a CNN program. "There was no single piece of intelligence that said, 'this guy is going to get on a plane.'" Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Sunday released new security procedures for travelers of the U.S.-bound flights from foreign countries, especially seven countries that are deemed "terrorism sponsors," according to local media reports. Full story
Staff at the U.S. Transporation Security Administration (TSA) Systems Integration Facility, one playing the role of a airline passenger (L) demonstrate the use of Millimeter Wave technology for passenger security screening in Washington, December 30, 2009. The TSA demonstrated two advanced imaging technologies that are used to safely screen passengers for metallic and non-metallic threats including weapons, explosives and other objects concealed under layers of clothing without physical contact.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhuanet)-- The wide use of full-body scanning at airports now being discussed at the White House has set off hot criticism from privacy advocates who call it a "virtual strip search," according to media reports Thursday. Full story
A security official patrols Terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy airport on Dec. 28 in the Queens borough of New York City.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. intelligence community knew of al-Qaeda's plot to bomb an U.S. flight on the Christmas, but it could not pinpoint the terrorist group's target out of flooding information before Dec. 25, according to a TV report on Wednesday.
The CBS news report cited an a high-ranking counterterrorism official as saying that despite knowledge of a "Christmas surprise" al-Qaeda threatened to make, the U.S. intelligence agencies were not able to piece together the details in time to prevent the attempted bombing of a Delta/Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan. Full story
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Yemen are cooperating in looking at targets for potential retaliation strike after a Nigerian attempted to blow up a U.S. airliner and claimed he obtained material and instruction in Yemen, CNN reported on Tuesday. Full story
