A senior Yemeni Defense Ministry official told Yemen Post that reports of a Norwegian attempting to attack Europe or the United States using Yemen as a launch pad is close to a myth and raises questions.

The official said that the evidence brought up so far by international intelligence seems to lack strong concrete evidence. "We can't say that every foreigner living in Yemen is a suspect. That is just unfair. This is currently a mystery but the situation can change," the official said.

Last week, Yemeni intelligence officials denied having information on the Norwegian suspect being strongly involved with al-Qaeda though international media outlets claimed so.

The news start two weeks ago when AP reported that a Norwegian man received terrorist training from al-Qaeda's in Yemen and is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West sourcing officials from three European security agencies.