France Closes Yemen Embassy over Terror Threat

Yemeni soldiers standing guard in front of the main entrance of the US Embassy in the capital Sana'a, Yemen on 18 September 2008. The US embassy in Sana'a closed its doors to the public on 03 January 2010. Photo by BGNES

France has become the third Western nation to shut its Yemen embassy, after threats from an al-Qaeda offshoot, the foreign ministry in Paris announced.

The US and UK missions remain shut after their closure on Sunday.

The US government has accused Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula of being behind last month's attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit.

The group claimed responsibility last week and urged attacks on "crusaders who work in embassies or elsewhere", the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, all travellers flying into the US are to be subjected to tightened security measures, officials have said.

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