UK and US shut up embassies in Yemen
THE United States and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen yesterday over security concerns about possible militant attacks after the failed bombing of a US-bound plane on Christmas Day.
The US embassy cited threats by al Qaeda, which US intelligence agencies believe has a growing presence in Yemen.
A British Foreign Office spokeswoman cited security reasons for her embassy’s closure but declined to say if a specific threat had been made.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office said Britain and the US had agreed to intensify their joint work to tackle “the emerging terrorist threat” from both Yemen and Somalia in the wake of the failed plane attack.