SANAA/ROME: A suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged Al-Qaeda members Tuesday in Yemen, as the American and British embassies evacuated staff amid reports of a threatened attack by the terrorist group.

 

As Yemen bolstered security by sending tanks and troops into the streets of Sanaa, the capital of the impoverished country, militants shot down an army helicopter, killing all eight people aboard, the government said.

 

Yemeni authorities have suggested that there were Al-Qaeda threats in recent days to multiple potential targets in the country, which has been thrust back into the forefront of the international fight against the terrorist network. Among those sites were foreign installations and government offices in the capital of Sanaa as well as the strategic Bab al-Mandeb straits at the entrance to the Red Sea in the southern Arabian Peninsula.

 

The State Department ordered nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy to leave the country. The department said in a travel warning that it had ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks,” adding that U.S. citizens should leave immediately because of an “extremely high” security threat level.

 

Britain’s Foreign Office also said it had evacuated all staff from its embassy due to increased security concerns. The Foreign Office said the staff were “temporarily withdrawn to the U.K.” Tuesday.

 

Italy warned that its citizens faced a heightened risk of being kidnapped in Yemen. “There is a very high risk of attacks on government buildings and Western targets as well as the kidnap of foreign citizens, especially those from Western countries, both by Al-Qaeda and by tribe members,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

 

“Recent information considered to be reliable indicates a particularly high risk of kidnap for Italian citizens.”

 

Italy’s Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said earlier Tuesday there was no specific risk of attacks on Italy’s embassies abroad and “no indication” that Italy was being specifically targeted. Italy’s embassy in Yemen was closed Monday and Tuesday.

 

Yemen’s government criticized the evacuations in a statement from its embassy in Washington, saying the diplomatic withdrawal “serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation” between Yemen and the international community in the fight against terrorism. It insisted that its government has taken all precautions to ensure the security of foreign missions in Sanaa.

 

The U.S. has temporarily shut down 19 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa after the interception of a secret message between Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the leader of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, about plans for a major terror attack, according to a U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki said in a separate statement early Tuesday that the department issued the order for Yemen because of concern about a “threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. persons or facilities overseas, especially emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.”

 

The State Department also advised American citizens Tuesday to leave the country immediately and airlifted out some U.S. government personnel. “The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately,” a statement posted on its website said.

 

Meanwhile, there has been a spike in apparent U.S. drone strikes against Al-Qaeda leaders. The attack Tuesday was the fourth in two weeks.

 

Yemeni officials say the drone fired a missile at a car carrying four men in the Al-Arqeen district of Marib province, setting it on fire and killing them. One of the dead was believed to be Saleh Jouti, a senior Al-Qaeda member.

 

In Sanaa, residents awoke to the sound of an aircraft overhead. Officials said it was American, and photos posted on Instagram appeared to show a P-3 Orion, a manned surveillance aircraft.

 

The rare overflight of the capital came shortly before the announcements of the evacuations. Yemen increased security around the presidential palace and vital state institutions.

 

According to a Yemeni government official, President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi returned Sunday to Sanaa from the U.S., but only his son was there to meet him because of security concerns among top authorities who were told they might be targeted by Al-Qaeda.

 

The Yemeni military helicopter was shot down by a missile over the Al-Qaeda stronghold of Wadi Ubida in central Yemen, officials said. The helicopter was flying from Sanaa to the province of Marib, officials said. The eight who were killed, including a military commander, were part of a military force guarding oil installations in the province.

 

The Yemeni officials who provided the information on the suspected drone, the helicopter downing and the security in the capital all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

 

Monday, Yemeni authorities released the names of 25 wanted Al-Qaeda suspects Monday, saying they were planning terrorist attacks in Sanaa and other cities.

 

The ministry said security forces would pay $23,000 to anyone who came forward with information leading to the arrest of any of the wanted men.