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| Third Western Yemen embassy shuts | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| France has become the third Western nation to shut its Yemen embassy, after threats from an al-Qaeda offshoot, the foreign ministry in Paris announced. | |
| The US and UK missions remain shut after their closure on Sunday. | |
| The US government has accused Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula of being behind last month's attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit. | The US government has accused Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula of being behind last month's attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit. |
| The group claimed responsibility last week and urged attacks on "crusaders who work in embassies or elsewhere". | |
| Meanwhile, all travellers flying into the US are to be subjected to tightened security measures, officials have said. | Meanwhile, all travellers flying into the US are to be subjected to tightened security measures, officials have said. |
| WHERE NEW MEASURES APPLY Flights from Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria (countries classified by US as state sponsors of terror)Also, flights from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen class="" href="/2/hi/americas/8432481.stm">Q&A: 'Jet bomber' case class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm">Profile: Al-Qaeda in Yemen class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/8433519.stm">Attack stokes Yemen terror fears | |
| Airport staff will now carry out extra screening of people from 14 countries, including those the US considers to be state-sponsors of terrorism - Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. | |
| Yemen and Nigeria - which the alleged bomber travelled through - face the new restrictions. | |
| Passengers travelling from other countries will be checked at random. | Passengers travelling from other countries will be checked at random. |
| The US and UK embassies remained closed for a second day on Monday, with officials citing concerns about an imminent attack. | The US and UK embassies remained closed for a second day on Monday, with officials citing concerns about an imminent attack. |
| "The embassy is still closed again today... We are continuing to make the security review," a US diplomat told the Reuters news agency. | "The embassy is still closed again today... We are continuing to make the security review," a US diplomat told the Reuters news agency. |
| The Yemeni authorities have meanwhile tightened security measures at Sanaa's airport, as well as around several other embassies. | The Yemeni authorities have meanwhile tightened security measures at Sanaa's airport, as well as around several other embassies. |
| YEMEN FACTS Population: 23.6 million (UN, 2009)Capital: SanaaLanguage: Arabic Major religion: IslamOil exports: $1.5bn/24.5m barrels (Jan-Oct 2009)Income per capita: US $950 (World Bank, 2008) Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula Attack stokes Yemen terror fears Country profile: Yemen Send us your comments | |
| On Sunday, the US embassy said it had closed in response to "ongoing threats by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen". | On Sunday, the US embassy said it had closed in response to "ongoing threats by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen". |
| The UK followed suit, with a Foreign Office spokeswoman saying the embassy had been closed "for security reasons". | The UK followed suit, with a Foreign Office spokeswoman saying the embassy had been closed "for security reasons". |
| Hours earlier, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the BBC: "This is a new type of threat and it is from a new source which is obviously Yemen". | Hours earlier, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the BBC: "This is a new type of threat and it is from a new source which is obviously Yemen". |
| The US embassy was the target of an attack in September 2008 in which 19 people died, including a young American woman. The attack was blamed on AQAP. | The US embassy was the target of an attack in September 2008 in which 19 people died, including a young American woman. The attack was blamed on AQAP. |
| On Sunday, the US deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counter-terrorism said there were "indications that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy". | On Sunday, the US deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counter-terrorism said there were "indications that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy". |
| John Brennan told ABC the group had "several hundred members" in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and was posing an increasing threat. | John Brennan told ABC the group had "several hundred members" in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and was posing an increasing threat. |
| "We know that they have been targeting our embassy, our embassy personnel," he added. | "We know that they have been targeting our embassy, our embassy personnel," he added. |
| Al-Qaeda threat | |
| Last week, AQAP urged Muslims to help in "killing every crusader who works at their embassies or other places" and said it was behind the failed attempt to destroy the Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 on Christmas Day. | Last week, AQAP urged Muslims to help in "killing every crusader who works at their embassies or other places" and said it was behind the failed attempt to destroy the Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 on Christmas Day. |
| Mr Brennan said Anwar al-Awlaki seemed to be linked to the bomb plot Profile: Anwar al-Awlaki | |
| Speaking separately to CNN, Mr Brennan said there were "indications" that a radical American cleric of Yemeni origin had links both to the Nigerian accused of the bomb plot, and the man accused of the Fort Hood shootings in November. | Speaking separately to CNN, Mr Brennan said there were "indications" that a radical American cleric of Yemeni origin had links both to the Nigerian accused of the bomb plot, and the man accused of the Fort Hood shootings in November. |
| He said the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, had had direct contact with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab while he was being trained by AQAP operatives last year. | He said the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, had had direct contact with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab while he was being trained by AQAP operatives last year. |
| It was clear, he said, that Mr Awlaki had also been in touch with Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army major charged with shooting dead 13 people at Fort Hood. | It was clear, he said, that Mr Awlaki had also been in touch with Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army major charged with shooting dead 13 people at Fort Hood. |
| Since going on the run in Yemen in 2007, Mr Awlaki's overt endorsement of violence as a religious duty in his sermons and on the internet is thought to have inspired recruits to Islamist militancy. | Since going on the run in Yemen in 2007, Mr Awlaki's overt endorsement of violence as a religious duty in his sermons and on the internet is thought to have inspired recruits to Islamist militancy. |
| On Saturday, the head of US Central Command, Gen David Petraeus, visited Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh to pledge US support for its fight with al-Qaeda and would double its counter-terrorism aid. | On Saturday, the head of US Central Command, Gen David Petraeus, visited Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh to pledge US support for its fight with al-Qaeda and would double its counter-terrorism aid. |
| Yemeni officials meanwhile said they had sent more troops to hunt down al-Qaeda militants in the provinces of Abyan, Baida and Shabwa, and "tighten the noose around extremists" in the country. | Yemeni officials meanwhile said they had sent more troops to hunt down al-Qaeda militants in the provinces of Abyan, Baida and Shabwa, and "tighten the noose around extremists" in the country. |
| Correspondents say the security situation in Yemen is complicated by an abundance of firearms, an insurgency in the north and a secessionist movement in the south. | Correspondents say the security situation in Yemen is complicated by an abundance of firearms, an insurgency in the north and a secessionist movement in the south. |
| But the prospects of re-asserting central government authority over the lawless areas where al-Qaeda is based look, in the opinion of some analysts, remote - even with beefed-up American support. | But the prospects of re-asserting central government authority over the lawless areas where al-Qaeda is based look, in the opinion of some analysts, remote - even with beefed-up American support. |