Yemen on highest terror alert amid fears of al-Qaida attacks

Yemeni Interior Ministry issued a highest state of alert following intelligence's warnings of possible al-Qaida attacks, the ministry's website said on Saturday.

Security arrangements would be extra tightened around the potential targets amid growing activities of al-Qaida wing in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), according to the ministry.

The ministry's move followed the reports that terrorist gunmen ambushed a patrol security vehicle late on Friday in Yafee city in the southern province of Lahj, killing two soldiers and severely injured another one.

A local police official said clashes occurred between the soldiers and the gunmen after the ambush and the police authorities believed that al-Qaida militants were behind such attacks.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry said a senior Yemeni security officer died after being seriously wounded on Thursday in an al- Qaida ambush in the northeast province of Marib, home of Yemen's major location of oil facilities.

The impoverished Arab country has witnessed a growing active role of the AQAP regional wing since the beginning of this year, in which the terrorist group had claimed responsibility for a string of deadly attacks against army and security personnel in the south and east.

The U.S.-backed Yemeni government has intensified security operations and air raids against terrorist groups after the Yemen- based al-Qaida wing claimed credit for a botched attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger plane bound for Detroit in December last year.

Source: Xinhua