Post date: Aug 06, 2013 7:2:49 PM
A U.S. Air Force flies diplomatic staff out of Yemen in a C-17 transport plane, video posted on the Internet shows.
BELIEVED TO BE SANAA, YEMEN (SAID TO BE AUGUST 6, 2013) (YOUTUBE/YOUTHSTANDYEMEN) - The United States flew its diplomatic staff out of Yemen in an air force transport plane, an amateur video posted on the Internet on Tuesday (august 6) purported to show.
The clip shows a C-17 plane flying above what is believed to be the Yemeni capital Sanaa, ahead of landing.The U.S. has told its citizens in Yemen to leave immediately, following warnings of potential attacks that have pushed Washington to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East.
The poorest Arab country, Yemen 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.
U.S. sources have told Reuters that intercepted communication between bin Laden's successor as al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and the Yemen-based wing was one part of the intelligence behind their alert last week.
Yemen is one of a handful of countries where Washington acknowledges targeting militants with strikes by drone aircraft.