Yemen said on Monday Germany's ban on cargo flights coming through it was hasty, strange, exaggerating, harming its counterterrorism efforts and only serving Al-Qaeda.

An official said the move, taken after the mail bombs sent to the United States of America onboard planes that originated in Yemen and that were seized in London and Dubai, was a collective and illogical punishment of Yemen, which refuses terrorism and is launching an unabated war against it.

Yemen is one of the countries most affected by terrorist acts by local and foreign terrorists who come to bomb and do other destructive acts inside it, the official said, adding that Yemen's friends should support it in this case as it is determined to continue the war on terror despite all consequences.

On Monday, a spokesman for the German Transport Ministry said in a press conference that his country expanded the ban on freight flights coming through Yemen and tightened security measures at airports after it had discovered a suspicious package passed through its western part.

The decision is indefinitely valid, he said, pointing out that all Yemeni airplanes flying to Germany were handed a copy of it.

Now, German aviation companies should prevent direct and indirect flights coming through Yemen from landing at local airports, he made clear.

"Moreover, Germany is currently considering banning cargo flights from other countries within the framework of a comprehensive security review."