也门近日挫败基地组织一破坏行动
概要：也门称近日挫败了基地组织策划的一次破坏行动，该行动意图炸毁也门的输油管道并占领关键港口。据也门总理的媒体顾问称，数名基地组织武装分子准备身着也门军队制服，在穆斯林斋月27日（即公历8月4日）向也门发起进攻。他们意图炸毁哈德拉毛省的一处石油输出管道和港口城市巴尔哈夫的一处天然气输出设施，并占领哈德拉毛省省府穆卡拉。
据悉，美国情报部门截获了基地组织头目间的电话内容。也门军队因此在目标设施周围加强了军力，禁止任何人出入，从而阻止了这场行动。
近日，美国和西方数国纷纷关闭了驻也门的使领馆，但目前尚不清楚基地组织策划的此次行动是否与西方国家采取的安全措施有关。
Yemen says it has foiled Al Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize ports, as it is revealed US intelligence were tipped off by intercepting terrorists' conference call
Security forces uncovered plans for an attack in the poorest Arab country
Dozens of Al Qaeda militants were to dress in Yemeni soldier uniforms
Yemeni PM's spokesman says they also aimed to seize the city of Mukalla
American special forces are now said to be preparing for action in Yemen
US and UK embassy staff have been warned to leave the country
Yemen says it has foiled an audacious Al Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize key ports, as US special operations forces reportedly prepare for action in the country.
Security forces thwarted a plan by terrorists to take over oil and gas export facilities and a provincial capital in the eastern part of the country, a government official said today.
Rajeh Badi, press advisor to Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa, said the plot involved dozens of Al Qaeda militants dressed in Yemeni army uniforms storming the facilities on the night of the 27th of the Muslim month of Ramadan, which was on Sunday.
The plot was apparently discovered after US intelligence officers intercepted a conference call between senior leaders of Al Qaeda.
More than 20 operatives were involved in the call, which mainly involved Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of Al Qaeda’s affiliate based in Yemen, according to The Daily Beast.
The political temperature has hotted up in the Yemen in recent days and there is a heavier military presence on the streets
Badi said: 'The plot aimed to seize the al-Dabbah oil export terminal in Hadramout and the Belhaf gas export facility, as well as the city of Mukalla .'
He said the bid was prevented by Yemeni forces deploying extra troops around the targeted facilities and banning anyone from entering.
News of the foiled plot emerged after the United States evacuated some American diplomatic staff out of Yemen and told nationals to leave the country immediately after warnings of potential attacks that had prompted Washington to shut missions across the Middle East.
Britain, France, the Netherlands and Norway also closed their embassies in Sanaa and some evacuated their staff.
It was not immediately clear if the foiled plot was linked to these security measures.
Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, is the base for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden, and militants have launched attacks from there against the West.
It emerged today that officials are investigating the theory that Al Qaeda terrorists could try to bring down planes using an undetectable explosive soaked into their clothes.
The organisation’s bomb-makers are reportedly developing an ‘ingenious’ system whereby shirts and trousers drenched in the explosive could be ignited when dry.
It would be undetectable under current security measures and remove the need for terrorists to mix liquid explosives on board, security sources told the American TV network ABC News yesterday.
The latest threat to air passengers is one of the reasons behind the current global terror alert, according to two senior US government officials.
British bomb expert Sidney Alford confirmed that the new method was possible using easily available chemicals, but pulling it off would be tricky as the soaking process would dilute the explosive.
He said: ‘The clothes act as a diluent and reduce the power of the explosives.’
However, igniting treated clothes could be done simply with a match. Passengers are allowed to carry a single box of safety matches or a cigarette lighter on flights.
The new explosive has reportedly been developed by the notorious bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who made the device used by convicted ‘underwear bomber’ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in his attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day in 2009.
Other reports have suggested that Al-Asiri is developing bombs that could be sewn under the skin of terrorists.
The level of ‘terror chatter’ being monitored by security services has been described as one of the most serious threats to American and Western interests since the 9/11 attacks.
In response, the Foreign Office last night evacuated all staff from the British embassy in Yemen.
Those posted in Sana’a, the capital – including ambassador Jane Marriott, who has only been there a month – were told to return to the UK because of ‘increased security concerns’.
The US also ordered all non-essential personnel at its Yemeni embassy to get out, and American citizens still in the country were flown to safety by military aircraft.
Dozens of Al Qaeda operatives are said to have streamed into Sana’a in the past few days, forcing the country’s military to use ‘extraordinary and unprecedented’ security measures to protect official buildings.
At the same time, at least four suspected terrorists have been killed in an American drone strike in the eastern Marib region of Yemen.
The drone fired a missile at a car carrying the four men, setting it on fire and killing all of them, the officials said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media, the officials said they believe one of the dead is Saleh Jouti, a senior Al Qaeda member.
It's the fourth drone attack in the past week to hit a car believed to be carrying Al Qaeda members.
On Sunday20 US embassies and consulates were closed after conversations between two senior al-Qaeda figures, including top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,were intercepted.
Western embassies in the capital of Sanaa are also being protected.
The State Department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen 'due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks' and said U.S. citizens in Yemen should leave immediately because of an 'extremely high' security threat level.
'As staff levels at the Embassy are restricted, our ability to assist U.S. citizens in an emergency and provide routine consular services remains limited and may be further constrained by the fluid security situation,' the travel warning said.
The BBC reports that the White House and the US state department say the current threat comes from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but have refused to release further details.
The UK Foreign Office said in a statement: 'Due to increased security concerns, all staff in the British embassy have been temporarily withdrawn and the embassy will remain closed until staff are able to return.'
Several European countries have also temporarily shut missions in Yemen.
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