SANAA, Yemen - Three U.S. drone strikes killed a total of 12 suspected al-Qaida militants Thursday, a Yemeni military official said, raising to eight the number of attacks in less than two weeks as the Arab nation is on high alert against terrorism.
The uptick in drone strikes signals that the Obama administration is stepping up its efforts to target Yemen's al-Qaida offshoot - al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula - amid fears of attacks after the interception of a message between its leader and the global leader of the terror network.
Since July 27, drone attacks have killed 34 suspected militants, according to an Associated Press count provided by Yemeni security officials.
The high alert in Yemen came after authorities revealed an al-Qaida plot to target foreign embassies and international shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
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The U.S. and Britain evacuated diplomatic staffers this week after learning of a threatened attack that prompted Washington to close temporarily 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa.
While the United States acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not confirm strikes or release information on how many have been carried out.
The program is run by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA, with the military flying its drones out of Djibouti, and the CIA out of a base in Saudi Arabia.
In the capital of Sanaa, an Associated Press reporter said a drone buzzed overhead for hours Wednesday and early Thursday, leaving residents anxiously wondering about its target and whether al-Qaida militants were about to strike in the city.
Thursday's first reported drone attack hit a car carrying the suspected militants in the district of Wadi Ubaidah, about 110 miles east of Sanaa.
Yemeni authorities said Wednesday they uncovered an al-Qaida plot to target foreign embassies in Sanaa and international shipping in the Red Sea.
A U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat have told the AP that the embassy closures were triggered by the interception of a secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major attack.
The discovery of the al-Qaida plot prompted the Defense Ministry to step up security around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Officials banning speedboats or fishing vessels from the area, and military forces have been ordered to shoot to kill anybody suspicious or those who refuse to identify themselves.
Details of the plot were reminiscent of the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000.
