Al-Qaida planning more attacks in Yemen

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SANAA, Yemen, April 16 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida militants are planning attacks on government buildings in central Ad Dali province, the Yemeni Interior Ministry said.

Violence attributed to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has escalated during for the first few months of Yemeni President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi's tenure.

The Interior Ministry warned that AQAP was planning attacks on targets in Ad Dali province, south of Sanaa, the Yemen Post reports.

The ministry warned that AQAP was seeking revenge following what the Post described as devastating blows suffered in Abyan province last week. Scores of AQAP militants were killed during April fighting in southern Yemen, home to a separatist campaign compounding the country's security problems.

The Saudi Embassy in Yemen was closed Monday until further notice, the Post reports. Abdallah al-Khalidi, the Saudi envoy to Riyadh, was abducted in March.

A Shiite rebellion in northern Yemen threatened to engulf Saudi forces as conflict spilled over the border in 2010.

Some political figures in Yemen threatened to join the southern secessionist movement after Hadi's victory. Lawmakers during the weekend were unable to pass a budget because of internal divisions.