SANAA, Yemen — Just a day before Yemen's most significant annual holiday marking the end of a month of fasting, American and British diplomats evacuated the country because of what both governments described as major security threats from al-Qaeda. Since then, the few foreigners remaining in the country have been on lock-down within their homes.
Meanwhile, the capital's streets bustled with Yemeni families shopping for the holiday. Locals remained unaware of the heightened security measures until the noisy sounds of American planes hovering over the capital awakened terrified residents Tuesday morning.