Western counter-terrorism help 'not enough for Yemen'
Mr Abdulmutallab studied at the Sana'a Institute for the Arabic Language Yemen has said it is not getting enough support from the West to tackle al-Qaeda, as details emerge of the suspected US jet bomber's time there. Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told the BBC that Yemen had the will and ability to deal with al-Qaeda, but was undermined by a lack of support. He estimated that several hundred al-Qaeda members were operating in Yemen and could be planning more attacks. A Yemen-based branch of the network has claimed it planned the failed attack. Yemeni officials said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up the Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day, was living in Yemen from August until the beginning of December, the official Saba news agency reported. US officials are said to be concerned there may be more al-Qaeda-trained young men in the country planning to bring down US planes. US FLIGHT ADVICE Only one item of hand luggage, including items bought airside BA and Virgin Atlantic not charging to check in extra hand luggage Check in wrapped presents Passengers subject to "pat-down" searches before boarding, on top of usual security checks Customers to remain seated during final hour of flight No access to hand luggage and a ban on leaving possessions or blankets on laps during this hour
Dutch press EU to adopt scanners In pictures: Suspect's journey How are travellers screened? Q&A: 'Jet bomber' case In recent weeks, Yemen has launched several major operations against al-Qaeda with US backing, amid fears the troubled country is becoming a major training centre for militants. 'Exaggerated' danger In an interview for BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, Mr al-Qirbi said the conflict with al-Qaeda was a priority for his government despite wars with Shia rebels in the north and with separatists in the south. Yemen was getting some support in this conflict but it was inadequate, he added. "We need more training. We have to expand our counter terrorism units and this means providing them with the necessary training, military equipment, ways of transportation - we are very short of helicopters. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "The United States can do a lot, Britain can do a lot, the European Union can do a lot in that regard," he said. He said he thought that 200-300 al-Qaeda members were operating in Yemen, but that this was just a rough guess. "Of course there are a number in Yemen and they may actually plan for attacks as in Detroit," he said. But Mr al-Qirbi said warnings about the situation made by US officials like Gen David Petraeus, head of Central Command, were overstated and "exaggerated in some media". Guantanamo link Mr Abdulmutallab has been charged with attempting to blow up the Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 from Amsterdam, which had nearly 300 people on board, as it made its final descent into Detroit on Friday. The 23-year-old, who is being held at a federal prison in the US state of Michigan, was restrained by passengers and crew while allegedly trying to detonate a high-explosive device sewn inside his underwear. UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTALLAB Son of a wealthy Nigerian businessman Attended a British school in Togo Studied mechanical engineering at University College London Spent time in Dubai, Yemen and Egypt
Q&A: 'Jet bomber' case Profile: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Al-Qaeda group claims bomb plot He has reportedly told FBI investigators that al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen had supplied him with the bomb and that there were others like him who would strike soon. His family says it lost contact with him in October. On Monday a web posting by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including a photograph purportedly of Mr Abdulmutallab in front of its banner, said the attack had been a response to US attacks against its operatives. On Tuesday, an official at the Yemeni foreign ministry said that the Migration and Passport Authority had confirmed that Mr Abdulmutallab arrived in Yemen at the beginning of August to study at the Sanaa Institute for the Arabic Language (SIAL) and left for Ethiopia four months later. ABC News earlier reported that among the group who planned the alleged attack were two men who were released by the US from its Guantanamo Bay detention centre in November 2007. Mohammed Atiq al-Harbi, also known as Mohammed al-Awfi, and Said Ali al-Shihri were sent home to Saudi Arabia, where they were admitted to an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and later set free, US and Saudi officials said. Both men appeared in a video in January along with the man described as the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser Abdul Karim al-Wuhayshi.
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Authorities in Yemen say the Nigerian man accused of trying to destroy a U.S. airliner last week lived in Yemen during a four-month period earlier this year.

The Yemeni Foreign Ministry and it's Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi says 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab lived there between early August and early December. The ministry says the Nigerian was granted a visa to study Arabic at an institute in the capital Sana'a.  Security officials say they approved the visa for Abdulmutallab because he was granted visas by several friendly countries, and still held a valid visa to the United States.

Abdulmutallab is charged with trying to detonate a bomb while flying aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit. Authorities say he unsuccessfully tried to set off explosives attached to his body as the plane was approaching Detroit.  

A group known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility on Monday for the failed attack. In an Internet statement, the group says the attack was in retaliation for U.S. support for operations against the group in Yemen. The claim could not be independently verified.

Yemen has recently begun operations with U.S. support against al-Qaeda due to concerns that the country is becoming a training ground for militants. al-Qirbi said to BBC's Radio 4, that al-Qeada remains a top priority despite the Yemeni government having to deal with two insurgencies, one in the north by Shi'a rebels and one in the south by separatists.

al-Qirbi said the Yemeni government needs more support, "We need more training. We have to expand our counter terrorism units and this means providing them with the necessary training, military equipment, ways of transportation - we are very short of helicopters. The United States can do a lot, Britain can do a lot, the European Union can do a lot in that regard."

He also believed there 200 to 300 members of al-Qaeda in Yemen, however, that is a rough estimate. He added, "Of course there are a number in Yemen and they may actually plan for attacks as in Detroit." However, he called some statements made by U.S. officials overstated and "exaggerated in some media." 

U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States will use all resources to find and hold accountable those responsible for the terrorist plot. 

The president on Monday ordered a full review of air safety regulations and the terrorist watch-list system, in an effort to prevent future attacks. He vowed to use every element of U.S. power "to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat" extremists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia or elsewhere, who might want to attack the United States.

Abdulmutallab's name was listed in a U.S. government intelligence database, but he was not on the government's so-called "no-fly list," which would have banned him from flying on a U.S. airline. 

His father, a prominent banker and former Nigerian government minister, had warned the U.S. embassy in Nigeria about his son's extremist views.