WASHINGTON Ñ The United States has evacuated federal investigators from the Yemeni port of Aden amid warnings of Islamic attacks against U.S. installations in the Middle East.

A team of FBI officers and other officials have been investigating the October bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, in which 17 U.S. sailors were killed. The team has been moved to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the evacuation was discussed for weeks. Boucher said the move was coordinated with Yemeni authorities.

"In Sanaa, they can work with our embassy, and we think they can continue their work there with Yemeni officials," Boucher said. "So that is what we have decided to do now. We are doing this in consultation with our Yemeni partners, and we think this step can help improve our cooperation with them."

Officials said the U.S. investigation team includes State Department and FBI officials as well as staffers from the U.S. Marine Corps. They said a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport flew the investigation team from Aden to Sanaa late last week.

On Sunday, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby held talks with Yemeni leaders. Shelby, chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, discussed security cooperation between Washington and Sanaa.

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts