The United States and Great Britain have closed down their embassies in Yemen in response to al-Qaeda threats to attack US and British interests. Embassy staff are advised to stay at home until further notice.

The announcement follows an attempted airline bomb attack over Detroit on Christmas Day by a Yemeni-based offshoot of al-Qaeda. On Saturday, US President Barack Obama for the first time publicly accused al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) of attempting to blow up the Northwest plane with almost 300 passengers on board. The would-be bomber, Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has now confessed to US authoritiesthat he was trained by AQAP in Yemen.

The United States and Britain have agreed to finance a special counterterrorism unit in Yemen to tackle the evolving threat from Islamist groups in Yemen and Somalia. Washington had earlier announced plans to double financial aid to Yemen. The 140-million-dollar package will be used to set up special anti-terrorism police units and to strengthen the Yemeni coastal operation.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also called a summit in London to discuss radicalisation in Yemen, in parallel with a conference on Afghanistan. Mr Brown said the meeting to be held at the end of the month had support from Washington and the EU, and the prime minister added that he aims to involve Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.

Photo: Yemeni capital Sena'a by CharlesFred (Flickr)