US embassy in Yemen closes amid attack fears
Print Edition
THE US embassy in Yemen was closed to the public yesterday after a spate of attacks against foreigners and fears that al-Qaida will seek revenge for a deadly offensive in the south.
“The embassy is closed today and this will remain in effect until further notice,” an employee at the US mission in a heavily-guarded neighborhood in northeast Sanaa, said.
Police were deployed along all roads leading to the embassy and conducted thorough inspections of vehicles.
A US State Department spokeswoman said Wednesday that the embassy would be temporarily closed to the public “due to recent attacks against Western interests in Yemen.”
These attacks “and information we have received have given us enough concern to take this precautionary step,” she said.
On Monday, a Frenchman was killed and another wounded when gunmen opened fire on their car in Sanaa’s diplomatic district. Both worked for a private security firm that officials said was guarding the European Union delegation in Yemen.
On Wednesday, Yemeni security forces shot dead the head of a “terror cell” behind Monday’s attack, the country’s supreme security committee said.
The same day, the interior ministry said it was searching for suspects whose vehicles were involved in recent attacks in Sanaa after “five al-Qaida terrorists” were arrested there.
The developments came as Yemen pressed ahead with a deadly offensive against strongholds of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Yesterday, the defence ministry announced that the army had seized a major AQAP stronghold in Azzan, in southern Shabwa province.
Authorities said several al-Qaida commanders were among dozens of suspected militants killed since the operation was launched on April 29.
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