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SANAA - THE US embassy in Yemen said on Tuesday it had been ordered by the State Department to evacuate non-essential personnel following attacks in the country claimed by Al-Qaeda.
'Following the attack on the US embassy on March 18 and the April 6 attack on the Hadda residential compound in Sanaa, the Department of State has ordered the departure of non-emergency embassy staff and family members from Yemen,' said a statement on the embassy's website.
'Embassy employees are not authorised to travel outside of Sanaa and have been advised to avoid hotels, restaurants, and tourist areas and to strictly limit their exposure in public places until further notice,' it added.
The embassy statement also urged Americans in the country to 'exercise caution and take prudent security measures, including maintaining a high level of vigilance, avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping a low profile, varying times and routes for all travel'.
On Sunday militants used rockets to attack villas housing US oilmen in the capital, Sanaa. No casualties were reported in the attack which was claimed by Al-Qaeda in Yemen in a statement posted online on Tuesday.
'On Sunday April 6, 2008, a unit of the Khaled bin al-Walid Brigade fired on a residential complex housing Americans and other foreigners at Al-Hadda in Sanaa province,' said a statement by Jund Al-Yemen Brigades, which Al-Qaeda calls itself in the country.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, said the attack was staged to avenge the May 2007 death in Afghanistan of Mullah Dadullah, a Taleban commander killed in a raid by Afghan and Nato forces. -- AFP
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