YEMEN: SECURITY INCREASED FOLLOWING AL-QAEDA THREATS

Sanaa, 9 Nov. (AKI) - The authorities in Yemen have ordered soldiers and other security personnel to increase security controls around areas in the capital Sanaa considered sensitive. According to a report on the Arabic language London based daily, "al-Quds al-Arabi", citing sources in Yemen's interior ministry, there is a significant increase in the number of patrols on the main streets of the city following recent threats made by a local cell of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Two days ago, the threats appeared for the first time on the Internet, in which a Yemeni cell of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for two failed attackes carried out by suicide bombers in September against two oil refineries in the north and south of Yemen and also threatened to carry out new attacks against government offices.

The police has also begun controls on people suspected of being close to al-Qaeda and an interior ministry representative, General Muhammad al-Qus, has doubled the security in front of institutions and the main companies in Yemen.

An increased state of alert has also been called for the area around Western embassies in Sanaa, often considered to be a major target of terrorists.