hmmmmm... Yemen...

fair use...

Link

U.S. Embassy Reduces Services in Yemen, Citing Increased Threat to American Interests

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - The U.S. Embassy suspended consular services Monday in Yemen, citing an increased threat of terrorism to American interests in the country.

A Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that Americans or their interests were at greater risk. But additional police officers were seen guarding the U.S. Embassy compound Monday.

William Burns, U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Near East, is scheduled to visit Yemen on Thursday. He is touring seven Gulf nations to discuss anti-terrorism measures.

The message, distributed to local U.S. citizens, reminded Americans to exercise "particular caution" at the San'a Trade Center, U.S.-affiliated franchises such as restaurants and other places popular with expatriates. Americans were advised to keep a low profile, vary their routines and avoid large crowds.

The message didn't spell out the nature of what it termed an "increased threat to U.S. interests in Yemen, including the U.S. Embassy." Embassy officials weren't available for comment.

The embassy temporarily suspended visa and other routine consular services as of Monday, the message said.

Heightened security has been in place at the embassy and other potential American and Western targets in Yemen since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Last June, the embassy closed and eight people were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack the building. The embassy reopened in July.

In October 2000, two suicide bombers attacked the destroyer USS Cole in the southern Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 American sailors.

The United States blames al-Qaida, the Islamic extremist group led by Osama bin Laden, for the Cole bombing. Al-Qaida is also accused of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

U.S. officials have pressed the Yemeni government to arrest al-Qaida members in the country. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told an Egyptian newspaper last week that al-Qaida had no presence in Yemen.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002