U.S., Britain Shut Embassies in Yemen After Threat

A statement on the U.S. Embassy website in Yemen said the closing was "in response to ongoing threats by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to attack American interests in Yemen." The embassy notice also warned U.S. citizens in Yemen "of the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against American citizens and interests throughout the world."

The BBC said it was told by the British Foreign Office that its embassy closed "for security reasons" hours after the U.S. mission was shut. A decision will be made later on whether to re-open on Monday.

While no details were given, White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said on CNN's State of the Union that there are "indications that al Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sana'a (the capitol), possibly our embassy."

"What we do is to take every measure possible to insure the safety of our diplomats and citizens abroad," Brennan said. "So the decision was made to close the embassy. We're working very closely with the Yemeni government on taking the proper security precaution."

The closures came as both the U.S. and Britain vowed to ramp up their efforts to help Yemen battle al Qaeda. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, said this weekend that the U.S. would double the $67 million in counterterrorism aid to the country. Petraeus met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also vowed to step up counterrorism aid. Shortly before the embassy closing, Brown told the BBC, ""This is a new type of threat and it is from a new source which is obviously Yemen, but there are many other potential sources Somalia, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan."