Yemen boosts Aden port security after attack alert

ADEN, Yemen, Nov 23 (Reuters) Yemeni authorities stepped up security at Aden port today after receiving warnings of possible attacks, port officials said.

Militants bombed a US destroyer in Yemen's Aden port in 2000 and a French oil tanker in 2002 in the Gulf of Aden.

''Strict security measures were taken in the sea port of Aden after we received threats of attacks,'' a port official told Reuters, but did not give any details about the threats.

He said the coast guard deployed more boats and patrols around the harbour. Security officials were not immediately available for comment.

Yemen has cracked down on al Qaeda-linked militants following the 2000 attack on the US warship Cole that killed 17 sailors and the 2002 bombing of the French tanker Limburg.

The Arab country, the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the US-led war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

In September, Yemeni authorities foiled attacks on oil facilities in the country. Al Qaeda's wing in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks and vowed more strikes against the United States and its allies.

REUTERS AB HT1815