Gunmen in a car fired on a police checkpoint near the US Embassy in Yemen's capital on Monday, an Interior Ministry official said, hours after the embassy received threats of a possible attack. Police returned fire at two gunmen in the car, which fled the scene, the official said. It was unclear if anyone was injured. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press. He said three men in the area were detained. An attack on the embassy in September involving gunmen and explosives-packed vehicles killed 17 people, including six militants. Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for that attack. A US Embassy spokesman could not be reached for comment on Monday night's shooting. A Yemeni security official said the US Embassy received a telephone call and an e-mail early Monday saying the US and Russian embassies would be targeted by Al-Qaeda within a few hours. The US Embassy confirmed receiving a threat about a potential attack on its compound, and security measures were heightened in the capital, Sana'a. Attempts to contact the Russian Embassy were not successful. US Embassy spokesman Ryan Gliha said earlier in the day that the embassy was urging American citizens to exercise caution in Yemen. He said the embassy received a threat “regarding a possible attack that could take place in the foreseeable future” but gave no further details. Throughout the day, police were seen setting up security checkpoints and turning back cars and pedestrians on two key streets heading toward the US Embassy in eastern San'a. There were also checkpoints around the Russian Embassy in downtown Sana'a, but traffic was not disrupted. The US Embassy also issued a warden message to Americans in Yemen advising them to be cautious and take “prudent security measures in all areas frequented by Westerners.” Yemen is the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden and has an active Al-Qaeda presence, despite government efforts to destroy the terror network, which has purportedly set up training camps in the country. Late last week a video posted on a jihadist website had shown ex-Gitmo detainees Abu Al-Hareth Muhammad Al-Oufi (ex-Gitmo prisoner No. 333) and Sa'eed Al-Shihri (prisoner number 372) as field commander of Al-Qaeda and Deputy leader of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, respectively. They were seen sitting with the leader of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, Nasser Al-Wahaishi and the group's commander, Qassim Al-Raimi, who had escaped from the Yemeni Intelligence Prison.
