LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – From the U.S. Embassy website in Yemen:
The U.S. Embassy in Sana’a is closed today, January 3, 2010, in response to ongoing threats by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen. On December 31, the U.S. Embassy sent a warden message to Americans citizens in Yemen to remind them of the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against American citizens and interests throughout the world. The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance and to practice enhanced security awareness.
U.S. Embassy In Yemen
The British Embassy is also closed, having received similar Al Qaeda warnings. The U.S. Ambassador Stephen Seche, appointed in 2007 and fluent in Arabic, served in Syria prior to Yemen. The December 25 Northwest Airlines would-be attack was perpetrated by a Yemeni-trained terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
In addition to America’s doubling their $67 million commitment to fighting terrorism in Yemen, Britain announced Sunday they and Washington will help create a new counterterrorism police squad in Yemen. Britain also will play host to an international conference late in January to work on a coordinated international strategy to counter Yemen as a base from which Muslims are radicalized.
The threat to the U.S. Embassy is thought to be retaliation for American help in two Yemeni air and ground assaults on Al Qaeda hideouts last month, said to have killed more than 60 people. 30 suspected militants were reputedly among the dead. Yemen borders oil producer Saudi Arabia, and is the ancestral home of Osama Bin Laden. The central government of Yemen controls little more than the nation’s capital, with other regions locked in civil war. The American Embassy has been successfully attacked twice since 2003.
Related posts:
- U.S. mulls closing Damascus embassy as security worsens
- Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen President, Vows To Return
- U.S. eyes cuts to Iraq embassy after troops exit
- Dems, Clooney to protest Sudanese embassy Friday
Laura spent years as a Hollywood story analyst, did a big 180, and is now an entrepreneur focused on web marketing and analytics. She's also a mom of one.Laura Glendinning article archive.
