Yemeni security forces have conducted "successful counterterrorism operations" to eliminate the threat, according to a statement posted early Tuesday on the embassy's Web site. It did not elaborate, other than to "commend the government of Yemen for its efforts to disrupt al-Qaida."
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, is the poorest Arab country and has long struggled with security threats, fighting a fierce Shiite rebellion in the north and a separatist movement in the south. The country is home to a local offshoot of al-Qaida, thought to be responsible for numerous terror incidents, including a 2008 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sana'a that killed 19 people as well as the suicide bombing that killed 17 American sailors on the USS Cole in the port of Aden in 2000.
Nasser Nasser, AP
After closing for two days because of a heightened terrorist threat, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopened on Tuesday.
Yemen gained more notoriety last week when it emerged that a Nigerian man charged with trying to bomb the Detroit-bound airliner had received terrorist training there.
Tuesday's Embassy statement said the threat of terrorist attacks against American interests in Yemen remains high and urged U.S. citizens in Yemen to "be vigilant and take prudent security measures."
Britain and France also closed their embassies in Sana'a on Sunday, citing similar threats. The British embassy reopened a day later, but visa and consular services remained suspended Tuesday, according to a statement on its Web site. "The situation is being assessed on a daily basis," it said.
Officials at the French Embassy in Sana'a would not confirm its status when reached by phone Tuesday and referred calls to the Foreign Ministry in Paris, which did not respond.
Washington has injected millions of dollars into Yemen's anti-terrorism efforts, adding $67 million last year alone -- a figure that's set to double in 2010.
On Monday, Yemeni forces announced they had killed two alleged al-Qaida fighters in fierce battles in Arhab, a mountainous area northeast of the capital Sana'a. The operation and others like it, which Yemeni officials say have killed dozens of militants in recent weeks, received praise Monday from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"The United States commends Yemen for the recent actions it has taken to disrupt the [al-Qaida] networks, and we are reiterating our commitment to assist in those efforts," Clinton said at a news conference in Washington alongside Qatar's prime minister.
But Clinton said "the instability in Yemen is a threat to regional stability and even global stability."
"We review our security conditions constantly," she added.
