U.S. troops to go to Yemen

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. troops will help train Yemen's military to fight terrorists under a plan approved by President Bush.

The Americans, probably Army Special Forces, also will provide military equipment for the Yemenis.

Yemen has been home to many members and sympathizers of Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Bin Laden's father was born there.

The plans to help train soldiers in the country on the southwestern tip of the Arabian peninsula represents another step in the Bush administration's moves to expand the war on terror beyond Afghanistan.

Washington has been pushing Yemen for greater cooperation against terrorism since 17 American sailors were killed in an October 2000 attack on the destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. The United States blames al-Qaida for that attack.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday that Bush had given the go-ahead to dispatch troops to train Yemen's military to combat terrorists.