Al-Qaeda targeted in Yemen amid global security alert

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) chief Nasser al-Wuhayshi A state of cautious calm dominates Yemen on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, as security forces announce a "state of alert", fearing further al-Qaeda attacks. At least 12 al-Qaeda members were killed in drone attacks in one day in Yemen as the United States stepped up strikes against suspected militants behind a global security alert.
The Wall Street Journal cited an anonymous US official as saying the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Nasser al-Wuhayshi, masterminded the plot that sparked the global alert.
Previous reports said Wuhayshi had been ordered on the offensive by al-Qaeda's overall leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
But the US official said an intercepted communication had shown that Zawahiri merely approved an operation that had been drawn up in Yemen.
According to Yemeni officials, Wuhayshi's group planned to seize a Western-run oil terminal and a port city.
US officials have not said what they think the targets were, but they have closed 19 embassies and diplomatic missions until at least the end of the week.
On Wednesday, Yemeni authorities said they had thwarted an AQAP plot to storm a Canadian-run oil facility at Mina al-Dhaba on the Arabian Sea coast.
They also allegedly plotted to seize control of Hadramawt provincial capital of Al-Mukalla, a port city of some 100,000 people, and the Ghayl Bawazeer area to its north, where militants briefly declared an Islamic emirate earlier this year.
On the same day, another presumed US drone assault killed seven suspected jihadists in the southeast.
Eight drone attacks since July 28 in Yemen have now killed a total of 36 people.
Only the United States possesses such aircraft in the region.

Additional reporting: AFP