MID-EAST ON RED ALERT

UK embassy closes over terror threat

THE British embassy in Yemen is to shut today and several other embassies have been told to be vigilant after the US issued a global travel alert.

The embassy in Sana’a – Yemen’s capital – will close its doors on Sunday and Monday as “a precautionary measure”, the Foreign Office said.

A spokesman would not say if the closure was due to a specific threat. The New York Times said the US – which is to close 21 embassies and consulates today – has intercepted al- Qaeda messages discussing attacks.

The British embassy in Yemen had already been operating with a reduced staff “due to security concerns”.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The embassy will be closed on 4 and 5 August. We have withdrawn a number of staff from Sana’a, due to increased security concerns.

“We are particularly concerned about the security situation in the final days of Ramadan and into Eid.”

In April 2010, a suspected al- Qaeda suicide bomber tried to kill the British ambassador to Yemen in Sana’a. No- one except the attacker was killed.

In October 2010, militants fired a rocketpropelled grenade at a car carrying Britain’s deputy ambassador in the Yemeni capital. One embassy worker and two bystanders were injured.

On its website, the Foreign Office was already advising against all travel to Yemen and urging British nationals to “leave now”.