Following a decision by the US and European embassies to close their diplomatic missions in Yemen and across some the Middle East region in response to reports pointing to an aggravated terror threats, the US State Department ordered not only on Tuesday all non-essential staff out of Yemen but advised all its nationals to immediately leave the country.
US officials revealed on Monday that their intelligence services had intercepted a conversation between two top al-Qaeda operatives: Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahir and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, leading them to believe that a terror hit was imminent in Yemen and directly aimed at US interests.
A global travel alert issued on Tuesday read, "The US Department of State warns US citizens of the high security threat level in Yemen due to terrorist activities and civil unrest. The department urges US citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those US citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately."
Moreover, the report labeled the security threat in Yemen as "extremely high".
It comes hours after a drone strike killed four suspected al-Qaeda militants in the country.
In Yemen security officials admitted that over the past few days the intelligence services which monitor all suspected al-Qaeda activities in the country had discovered that terror militants had been traveling to the capital ahead of what is now believed to be a large terror operation.
While for national security purposes officials refused to give any specifics, the threat level has been such that Sana'a has been literally inundated with armed personnel and armored vehicles to ensure that the military maintains a tight grip over all state and foreign interests.