SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The United States urged its citizens residing in Yemen to take extra precautions against possible attacks by the al-Qaida network.
A U.S. State Department statement distributed in Yemen Wednesday said: "The threats against the safety of all Americans in Yemen are still high due to continuous efforts by the al-Qaida network to re-establish an operational base in this country."
Yemeni officials denied last month the presence of al-Qaida cells in their country after they were dismantled in a series of confrontations with government forces.
The main al-Qaida operative in Yemen, Abu Ali Sinan al-Harithy, was killed more than a year ago in an operation in which U.S. intelligence took part.
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks in Yemen in the past four years, including the Oct., 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden in which 17 U.S. servicemen were killed.
