Yemen: Drone strikes and embassy closures


On 2 August, the United States issued a global security alert, warning of “the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula”. A string of embassy closures by the US and other governments followed two days later; some remained closed for a week. In Yemen, which seemed to be the epicentre of concerns, the embassy in Sanaa remained closed for routine consular services to the time of writing. US officials said the alarm was raised following intelligence that senior members of Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been discussing a major attack. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi expanded on that on 23 August in an address to police cadets which was broadcast on state television.