Hours after tweeting a cheerful note in honor of the last day of Ramadan, the British Ambassador to Yemen was on an emergency flight as US and UK expats evacuated in the face of a possible al Qaeda attack.

The US emptied out its embassy and citizens as well, with at least 75 US citizens were also evacuated by C-130 cargo plane to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

A US State Department traveling warned, “The department urges US citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those US citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately.”

It added, “The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high”.

Australia’s “Smart Traveller” website warns, “We continue to strongly urge all Australians in Yemen to depart by commercial means. The decision of the UK and US Governments to close temporarily their Embassies in Sana’a underscores the seriousness of the current situation,” and, “Terrorists may be planning suicide attacks.” 

Several European countries have also temporarily shut missions in Yemen.

All this comes after the reported interception of orders from al Qaeda to its affiliate in Yemen to strike US or allied targets.  Al Qaeda militants have been gathering in the troubled Arabian Peninsula country.