Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States, expecting an imminent Al Qaida strike, has withdrawn government personnel from Yemen.

Officials said the State Department requested an immediate airlift of personnel from the U.S. embassy in Sanaa. They said the evacuation by two U.S. air transports, which did not include military personnel, was conducted by the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 6.

“In response to a request from the U.S. State Department, early this morning the U.S. Air Force transported personnel out of Sanaa, Yemen, as part of a reduction in emergency personnel,” Defense Department spokesman George Little said.

The statement on Aug. 6 came in wake of a U.S. alert of an imminent Al Qaida attack in the Middle East. Officials said the threat stemmed from Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The State Department has also urged Americans to immediately leave Yemen. The order also included all government personnel deemed non-essential.

“The U.S. Department of Defense continues to have personnel on the ground in Yemen to support the U.S. State Department and monitor the security situation,” Little said.

Officials said the United States has intensified air strikes on suspected AQAP strongholds in Yemen. On Aug. 6, at least four Al Qaida operatives were killed in operations by U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles in the Maarib province.

For its part, Yemen has identified leading members of AQAP. The Sanaa regime, which offered a $23,000 reward, released the names of 25 AQAP fugitives said to have planned attacks throughout Yemen. The names included members of the Saudi leadership such as Ibrahim Al Rubaish and Ibrahim Al Assiri, the former released from the U.S. Navy facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2006.

  George Little, Maarib province, Out of Yemen: U.S. airlifts civilian staff from embassy, Sanaa, U.S. State Department