Two senior security officials said that the release of the kidnapped Swiss teacher was cancelled after al-Qaeda negotiators retreated from the agreement at the last moment.

"Al-Qaeda was supposed to release the Swiss teacher on Saturday. She was supposed to be handed over to the Yemeni government. The cancellation is not something that we expected," a senior Interior Ministry official told Yemen Post.

The official said that al-Qaeda raised their ceiling of demands at the last moment which complicated the entire situation.

"This could take hours or weeks. We are dealing with a militant group that does not respect rights and freedom," the official said.

The Swiss teacher was kidnapped months ago in Yemen's port city of Hodieda as she left her house on her way to work.