Summary A suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members Tuesday in Yemen.
SANAA (AP) - A suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged al-Qaida members Tuesday in Yemen, as the U.S. and British embassies evacuated staff amid reports of a threatened attack by the terrorist group.
Yemeni officials have suggested al-Qaida threats to multiple potential targets in their country in recent days, including foreign installations and government offices in the capital of Sanaa as well as to the strategic Bab al-Mandeb straits at the entrance to the Red Sea in the southern Arabian Peninsula.
It is not clear if these reports are the same as the intelligence that led to the temporary shutdowns of 19 U.S. diplomatic posts across the Muslim world, reportedly instigated by an intercepted message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen about plans for a major terrorist attack.
The State Department on Tuesday ordered nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country. The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel "due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks," adding that U.S. citizens should leave immediately because of an "extremely high" security threat level.
Britain s Foreign Office also said it has evacuated all staff from its embassy due to increased security concerns. The Foreign Office said the staff were "temporarily withdrawn to the U.K." on Tuesday.
