US meets to discuss security threats after closing embassies

President Barack Obama's top national security advisers met Saturday to discuss "potential threats occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," and "follow up actions," the White House said. The announcement comes after Britain, France, Canada and Germany joined the U.S. in shutting down their embassies in Yemen on Sunday and Monday after intelligence showed a potential for attacks in the region.

CBS news, citing anonymous intelligence officials, reports that a major plot is under way and that the team to carry it out has been selected and is in place.

The statement said National Security Adviser Susan Rice chaired the meeting, which also included Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

"The president had received frequent briefings over the last week on all aspects of the potential threat and our preparedness measure," the statement said.

The countries' commitment to closures on Saturday followed a U.S. decision to temporarily close two dozen embassies in Arab and other countries over fears of an al-Qaeda attack.

A senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity, "This latest threat is serious, and the Pentagon is working closely with its partners ... to confront it."

Obama is spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat after playing golf earlier on Saturday. His birthday is on Sunday.

CBS News reported that intelligence officials had information about a major plot.

"Intelligence officers have reporting from a reliable source that a major plot is underway and that the team to carry it out has been selected and is in place," CBS reported. 

U.S. authorities did not know the date, the timing or the target of the planned attack, it said.

Also on Saturday, Interpol released a global security alert linked to suspected al-Qaeda involvement in a recent spate of prison breaks in the Middle East, including Pakistan, Iraq and Libya. It called on E.U. member states to help determine whether the events could be connected. 

In London, the Foreign Office said that a number of staff at the British embassy had been withdrawn from Sanaa, particularly because of increased concerns in "the final days of Ramadan and into Eid".

The French foreign ministry has announced it will also close its embassy in Yemen on Sunday. "The decision was made for security reasons because of a threat that was considered elevated," a spokesman said.

In its statement, Germany warned its citizens travelling to the country that "the situation in the entire country is uncertain in the future".

At least one person died and six others were wounded in clashes on Friday between soldiers once loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's toppled president, and a rival army faction in Sanaa, police and medical sources said.

The friction added to rising tension in Yemen, which is increasing because of renewed drone attacks and security concerns.

Hakim Almasmari, editor of the Yemen Post, told Al Jazeera that the country is at its most tense level in a year.

"[This is] mostly due to the lack of security presence in the government and because of drone strikes taking place this week," he said.

At least three have struck Yemen in the past seven days, killing 13 people - among them civilians, he said.

Before the latest round of drone attacks, the last one was in the middle of May.

"The timing of the strikes was very unfortunate" further compounding the impact on Yemeni people, Almasmari said, because they fell in the month of Ramadan and as President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was on a trip to the US.

Al Jazeera and wire services