Dubai:
The US and UK on Sunday closed their embassies in San'a citing security threats from Al-Qaida hours after both governments pledged to help Yemen in combating terror emanating from its soil.
The US closed its embassy in Yemen citing "ongoing threats" by Al-Qaida and asked its citizens to "maintain a high level of vigilance" following the botched attempt to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day.
"The US Embassy in San'a is closed today, January 3, 2010, in response to ongoing threats by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen," the embassy posted the message on its website.
The closure of the US Embassy follows an warden message sent on Thursday to its citizens there reminding them of persisting threat to their lives after the failed December 25 bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound US airliner by a 23-year old Nigerian who received training and instructions from Al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
"The US Embassy reminds US citizens to maintain a high level of vigilance and to practice enhanced security awareness", it said, without mentioning the date to reopen.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office in London announced that its embassy in San'a was closed for "security reasons" and it would decide later whether to reopen it on Monday.
The US President Barack Obama sent his top Middle East general David Petraeus yesterday to meet Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh.