Several nations closed or limited service at their embassies in Yemen Monday, looking to protect their workers from the threat of al Qaeda terrorist attacks.
After the United States and Britain closed their embassies Sunday, several countries announced they were making changes at their embassy compounds — including Japan, France, Spain and Germany.
Each country cited the need for increased security measures.
The concerns follow last month’s attempted terrorist attack on a U.S.-bound airliner. Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility.
On Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama linked the Nigerian suspect, 23-year-old Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, to the group, which is a combination of al Qaeda networks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
While the United States and Britain closed their embassies entirely, other nations took more limited measures.
France closed its embassy to the public Monday. A French Foreign Ministry spokesman told CNN that embassy employees will continue their work, but without any visits from the public. The spokesman said the ministry was not acting on a specific threat.
Japan, halted service Monday at the consulate section of its embassy in Sanaa. The Japanese foreign ministry said the decision was based on the threat of terror, though not a specific threat. The embassy continued functioning.
Spain restricted public access to its embassy, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said, adding that the embassy continued to function “normally.”
And Germany said that while its embassy remained fully operational, security measures were increased. A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said fewer visitors were allowed into the embassy compound. The embassy had not received any terror threats, the spokesman said.
A senior official in U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration told CNN late Sunday that the closure of its embassy was because of a specific, credible and ongoing threat. No additional details were provided.
Another official, in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” explained the U.S. decision to close the embassy.
“There are indications that al Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy,” John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“And what we do is to take every measure possible to ensure the safety of our diplomats and citizens abroad, so the decision was made to close the embassy.”
The United States is working closely with the Yemeni government on the proper security precautions, he said.
The U.S. Embassy last week, on December 31, alerted Americans in Yemen to remain on alert for the possibility of terrorist violence.
“I think what we’ve seen over the past several years in Yemen is an increasing strengthening of al Qaeda forces in Yemen,” Brennan told CNN. “There are several hundred al Qaeda members there.”
The British Foreign Office told CNN Sunday its embassy also closed because of security concerns. The embassy remained closed Monday
What we’ve seen over the past several years in Yemen is an increasing strengthening of al Qaeda forces in Yemen.
In a Sunday interview on the BBC’s “The Andrew Marr Show,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said besides increased security measures, “we’ve got to also get back to the source of this, which is Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and we’ve got to recognize that we’ve got a group of young people who have been radicalized as a result of teaching by extremist clerics.”
He said Britain will work with American authorities to support the Yemeni government in its counterterrorism efforts.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said the attempted attack on the airliner was in retaliation for airstrikes against it on December 17 and 24. One of those attacks targeted four al Qaeda operatives believed to have been planning an imminent attack against either the United States or Saudi Arabian embassies in Yemen, or both, a senior U.S. military official told CNN Sunday.
Three of the targets were killed in the attack and a fourth was wounded, the official said.
On Saturday, Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, a senior U.S. government official told CNN.
During his meeting with Petraeus, Saleh expressed his appreciation for U.S. help in combating extremists, offered more support for U.S. counterterrorism strikes and said he would continue providing assistance for the U.S. investigation into the attempted bombing.
The two men discussed the latest intelligence on al Qaeda in Yemen, the official said, adding that the group in the U.S.-Yemeni meeting was kept very small on both sides.
In remarks Saturday, Obama pledged that everyone involved in the attack would be held accountable, and highlighted his administration’s attempts to crack down on extremist enclaves in Yemen. He reiterated his long-standing promise to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat” al Qaeda.
Obama said that AbdulMutallab had recently traveled to Yemen and that “its appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda.” Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula apparently trained AbdulMutallab, equipped him with explosives and directed him to attack the plane, the president said in his weekly radio address.
Obama has been criticized by some political opponents for not responding more aggressively to the bombing attempt.
From the first day, the Obama administration has been focused on Yemen, Brennan said Sunday.
“We are very concerned about al Qaeda’s continued growth there, but they’re not just focused on Yemen,” he said of al Qaeda. “They are, in fact, looking toward the West.” That’s why, he said, “we have to get to this problem in Yemen now.”
