LONDON/SANAA (Agencies) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called an international meeting on fighting extremism in Yemen for Jan. 28 in London, a statement from his Downing Street office said Friday.
The meeting, on the same day as a conference on Afghanistan, comes after an alleged bid by a Nigerian man suspected of receiving al-Qaeda training in Yemen to attack a plane as it came in to land in Detroit on Dec. 25.
The bomb attempt was a reminder of United States and Saudi fears that al-Qaeda will exploit instability in the poor Arab country to turn Yemen into a launchpad for more attacks.
"Gordon Brown has invited key international partners to a high-level meeting in order to discuss how best to counter radicalization in Yemen," the statement said. "The prime minister will host the event on 28 January in London."
Downing Street added the meeting would "stand alone" but run "in parallel" with the Afghanistan event, which is expected to be attended by senior ministers or leaders from around 43 nations.
The aims of the meeting will include identifying what the Yemeni government needs to help it fight violent extremism and coordinating assistance for areas most at risk of radicalization, the statement said.
A U.S. military commander said on Friday the United States will more than double its nearly $70 million security assistance program for Yemen, to root out al Qaeda leadership in the country.
"We have, it's well known, about $70 million in security assistance last year. That will more than double this coming year," General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said at a news conference in Baghdad.
Brown warned earlier that the failed Detroit plane bombing showed that terrorism remains a "very real" global threat as the world enters a new decade eight years after 9/11.
World leaders needed to cooperate "urgently" to tighten security at airports and on aircraft following the Dec. 25 attack in which a 23-year-old Nigerian nearly downed a U.S. jet as it prepared to land, he said.
Brown added that Britain had ordered a review of airport security arrangements and promised action "as quickly as possible." This could include the use of full body scanners at airports.
"The new decade is starting as the last began -- with al-Qaeda creating a climate of fear," he said, adding the failed bombing had "exposed an evolving terrorist threat" and highlighted "a major new base for terrorism."
"The failed attack in Detroit on Christmas Day reminds us of a deeper reality: that almost 10 years after Sept. 11 international terrorism is still a very real threat," he added.
The Detroit attack, which has led to a major review of security procedures and the coordination of airline and other watch-lists, had thrown the spotlight onto the threat posed by militants based in Yemen, he said.
Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab is believed to have been trained in Yemen before embarking on the failed bombing, with explosives concealed in his underwear which remained undetected as he passed through Nigerian and Dutch airports.
"Enemies of democracy and freedom -- now trying to mastermind death and destruction from Yemen as well as other better-known homes of international terror such as Pakistan and Afghanistan -- are concealing explosives in ways which are more difficult to detect," said Brown.
"Al-Qaeda and their associates continue in their ambition to indoctrinate thousands of young people around the world with a deadly desire to kill and maim," he wrote in an article on his Downing Street office's website.
And he said: "Our response in security, intelligence, policing and military action, is not just an act of choice but an act of necessity."
Brown said Britain has "one of the toughest borders in the world," and had screened 135 million passengers in and out of the country against watchlists -- including the Detroit attempted bomber, who was refused a visa in May 2009.
"But in light of the Detroit incident we all urgently need to work together on how we might further tighten these arrangements," he said.
He added potential measures to be deployed could include "explosive trace technology, full body scanners and advanced x-ray technology."
He stressed that Britain cannot rely only on a "fortress Britain strategy" but must take the fight to where extremists are based, "in Afghanistan, Pakistan and all around the world."
The meeting, on the same day as a conference on Afghanistan, comes after an alleged bid by a Nigerian man suspected of receiving al-Qaeda training in Yemen to attack a plane as it came in to land in Detroit on Dec. 25.
The bomb attempt was a reminder of United States and Saudi fears that al-Qaeda will exploit instability in the poor Arab country to turn Yemen into a launchpad for more attacks.
"Gordon Brown has invited key international partners to a high-level meeting in order to discuss how best to counter radicalization in Yemen," the statement said. "The prime minister will host the event on 28 January in London."
Downing Street added the meeting would "stand alone" but run "in parallel" with the Afghanistan event, which is expected to be attended by senior ministers or leaders from around 43 nations.
The aims of the meeting will include identifying what the Yemeni government needs to help it fight violent extremism and coordinating assistance for areas most at risk of radicalization, the statement said.
A U.S. military commander said on Friday the United States will more than double its nearly $70 million security assistance program for Yemen, to root out al Qaeda leadership in the country.
"We have, it's well known, about $70 million in security assistance last year. That will more than double this coming year," General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said at a news conference in Baghdad.
Brown warned earlier that the failed Detroit plane bombing showed that terrorism remains a "very real" global threat as the world enters a new decade eight years after 9/11.
World leaders needed to cooperate "urgently" to tighten security at airports and on aircraft following the Dec. 25 attack in which a 23-year-old Nigerian nearly downed a U.S. jet as it prepared to land, he said.
Brown added that Britain had ordered a review of airport security arrangements and promised action "as quickly as possible." This could include the use of full body scanners at airports.
"The new decade is starting as the last began -- with al-Qaeda creating a climate of fear," he said, adding the failed bombing had "exposed an evolving terrorist threat" and highlighted "a major new base for terrorism."
"The failed attack in Detroit on Christmas Day reminds us of a deeper reality: that almost 10 years after Sept. 11 international terrorism is still a very real threat," he added.
The Detroit attack, which has led to a major review of security procedures and the coordination of airline and other watch-lists, had thrown the spotlight onto the threat posed by militants based in Yemen, he said.
Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab is believed to have been trained in Yemen before embarking on the failed bombing, with explosives concealed in his underwear which remained undetected as he passed through Nigerian and Dutch airports.
"Enemies of democracy and freedom -- now trying to mastermind death and destruction from Yemen as well as other better-known homes of international terror such as Pakistan and Afghanistan -- are concealing explosives in ways which are more difficult to detect," said Brown.
"Al-Qaeda and their associates continue in their ambition to indoctrinate thousands of young people around the world with a deadly desire to kill and maim," he wrote in an article on his Downing Street office's website.
And he said: "Our response in security, intelligence, policing and military action, is not just an act of choice but an act of necessity."
Brown said Britain has "one of the toughest borders in the world," and had screened 135 million passengers in and out of the country against watchlists -- including the Detroit attempted bomber, who was refused a visa in May 2009.
"But in light of the Detroit incident we all urgently need to work together on how we might further tighten these arrangements," he said.
He added potential measures to be deployed could include "explosive trace technology, full body scanners and advanced x-ray technology."
He stressed that Britain cannot rely only on a "fortress Britain strategy" but must take the fight to where extremists are based, "in Afghanistan, Pakistan and all around the world."
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