Yemen foils terror plot to seize city and oil terminals
Print Edition
Yemen has foiled a plot by al-Qaida to seize two major oil and gas export terminals and a provincial capital in the east of the country, the government said yesterday, as Western embassies remained in lock-down in Sanaa and a spy plane circled above.
The announcement of the thwarted plot comes after warnings of potential attacks by militants prompted the US to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East and Africa last week and to issue a global travel warning.
Attention shifted to Yemen when US sources said intercepted communication between al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri and the Yemen-based wing of the militant group was partly what provoked the measures.
Both the United States and Britain withdrew some of their diplomatic personnel from Yemen on Tuesday and reiterated calls to their nationals to leave the country. Other European countries, such as France and Norway, also shut their embassies.
Rajeh Badi, press adviser to Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa, said it was the discovery of this al-Qaida plot which prompted the US security measures.
The plan was uncovered with Western and Arab help and also involved smuggling explosives into Sanaa to carry out attacks there, Badi said.
“The plot involved using dozens of al-Qaida militants dressed in Yemeni army uniforms to storm the facilities on the night of the 27th of Ramadan,” he said. “The plot aimed to seize the al-Dabbah oil export terminal in Hadramout and the Balhaf gas export facility, as well as the city of Mukalla.”
He said the plan was foiled by putting security forces on high alert and by tightening entry procedures to these facilities.
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