Yemen reveals Al-Qaeda oil port plot

(AFP) Yemen said on Wednesday it had foiled an Al-Qaeda plot to storm a Western-run oil terminal, as a US drone killed seven suspected jihadists in the country's southeast.

The Yemeni government's announcement was the first indication of the nature of the Al-Qaeda threat that prompted the mass closures of US diplomatic missions in the region and farther afield from Sunday.

The jihadist network's feared Yemeni affiliate plotted to assault the Canadian-run Mina al-Dhaba oil terminal on the Arabian Sea coast, and a nearby export facility for oil derivatives, and take hostage their staff, including Western expatriates, a government spokesman said.

They also plotted to seize control of the Hadramawt provincial capital of Al-Mukalla, a port city of some 100,000 people, as well as the Ghayl Bawazeer area to its north where Al-Qaeda militants briefly declared an Islamic emirate earlier this year, spokesman Rajeh Badi said.

The militants had planned to carry out their raids disguised in military uniforms. "They would demonstrate pretending to be guards demanding bonuses... and then storm the port," he said.

"If they were to fail in seizing control of the facilities, the plan was to take foreign experts away as hostages," he added.

Mass closure of US embassies prompted by Yemen threat

The attack was planned for the 27th day of Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, which coincided with Monday, the second day of the mass closure of US Middle East missions.

The plot was foiled around two days before it was due to be launched, Badi said.

Washington has closed 19 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa, citing intercepted communications among militants, reportedly including an attack order from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to the network's Yemen affiliate.

While the closures span cities across the Arab world, the focus of concern has been Yemen, where American forces are fighting a drone war against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Both Washington and London pulled out diplomatic personnel from Sanaa on Tuesday citing intelligence reports of an imminent AQAP attack.

Drone kills suspected militants

The latest US drone strike killed seven militants in Shabwa province, to the west of Hadramawt, early on Wednesday, the second such attack in as many days, tribal sources said.

The early-morning attack in the town of Nasab destroyed two vehicles, the sources said. Those who died were all AQAP militants.

It was the fifth US drone strike in Yemen since July 28. At least 24 suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been killed.

The Yemen-based AQAP has attempted several attacks on the United States, including a failed bid to bring down a passenger plane by a man wearing explosives in his underwear and another to send bombs concealed in printer cartridges.

Washington has launched scores of drone strikes in Yemen, where the militant group thrives in vast, lawless areas largely outside the government's control.

President Barack Obama hosted his Yemeni counterpart Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi for White House talks on August 1 on their joint struggle against the jihadists.

Authorities criticise withdrawal of embassy staff

Yemeni authorities beefed up security in Sanaa, where they feared the attack would be launched.

But they responded angrily to the withdrawal of Western diplomats, saying they recognised the safety fears but that the pullout "serves the interests of the extremists."

Such a step "undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism," the foreign ministry in Sanaa said.

Local authorities had "taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions," it added.

Yemen has listed the names of 25 Al-Qaeda suspects wanted in connection with an alleged plot to launch a major attack before Ramadan ends and the Eid al-Fitr feast begins on Thursday.

One of those on the list, Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli, was killed in a drone strike on Tuesday.

Yemen has offered a five million rial reward (17,300 euros) for information that could lead to the arrest of any member of the group, the defence ministry's news website 26sep.net reported.